12.31.11 We are at the end of another year and 2012 promises to be an interesting and busy year for ourselves and many others. Rio Dell's biggest issue going into the New Year will be the Rio Dell Plaza that is proposed for the cow pasture located at Davis St. and the Hwy 101 on-ramp south. At this time the current status is very much up in the air as far as the public knows. The city offered an option agreement for the property with a purchase price of $975,000.00 if the option is exercised. The city will pay up to $6,000 to keep the option open for 6 months in order for the city to evaluate whether or not it wants to go ahead with the project; the option can be extended for $1,000 a month for three months. The city is hoping to purchase the property and develop a new city center area consisting of a shopping area with an anchor grocery story (the city said it would prefer Winco) and storefronts for other businesses along with a new library, city hall, police station and gas station. You can learn more about the project proposal here. There are multiple ponds proposed across the project as well as a park. The city states that it will try to secure development agreements with at least 3-4 companies, including the anchor store, or the project will not proceed. There have been a number of opinions expressed by some community members with a vocal majority of those being against the project for various reasons. The project will connect Davis St. and Third Ave. which will put a number of homes facing the backside of the project which has not made the homeowners in that area happy. There are concerns about an increase in crime and problems associated with a strip mall such as increased traffic. Some have expressed a hope that Rio Dell will do something drastic like this project to begin growth and offer jobs locally. In another area, this project would likely be a benefit to residents with the positive aspects outweighing the negative overall but this isn't another area. Rio Dell has a long history of failure with projects that is well known to residents that have been here awhile. We bought our home in Rio Dell near the end of 2003, since that time we have seen the gateway project, the water infrastructure project, the 'non-subdivision' on Painter & May St., the annexation of Metropolitan and Blue Slide Rd. areas, the attempted annexation of Scotia, the Dinsmore Plateau development project, the proposed food co-op at the former Eel River Sawmill site, the perpetual wastewater treatment plant project which is still going on, and more. Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. The gateway project (wavy sidewalk and welcome sign) dissolved into a lawsuit when the city knowingly blocked off a legal driveway to a property owned by a resident allegedly as a retaliatory move. The citizens got to pay for legal fees and the eventual settlement in this matter as well a numerous other suits over the years. The paving of the roadway for the project had to be fixed after the fact as it was wavy and should never have been accepted by whomever signed off on the project. The water infrastructure project was a long overdue upgrade to the water mains and lateral connections which eventually led to the removal of the Public Works Director for running a second unmetered water line to his personal property. There was a lot going on behind the scenes in city hall over this and then City Manager Nancy Flemming took a lot of heat for the situation by the city council but they have all been long time residents of the city and certainly share in the responsibility to have done something long before. The crew on the water project found themselves in court afterwards in a labor dispute over issues such as overtime with the contractor Solid Rock. The identical homes built at the same time by the same developer on the corner of Painter and May St. (right at the gateway entrance to the city) were not required to make basic infrastructure improvements since the city said they were not actually a subdivision. Wendt Construction had to come in after the fact to help pave the road and put in the sidewalks that would have been a requirement anywhere else. The city annexed property on Blue Slide Rd. based on a proposed high-end housing project proposal that never materialized. There are a number of problems with that; the city is actively trying to "un-annex" the property before the next land slide which the city would be on the hook for. The Scotia annexation is a whole other story which consumed city hall for years in an attempt to acquire a tax base. The city was working with the owner of the Dinsmore Plateau who had a large development project in mind when he was busted by the feds for illegal activities such as setting up people on properties specifically to grow marijuana. The city expended funds to evaluate the feasibility of developing a food co-op that would ship local product out of the area from a distribution center built on the former Eel River Sawmill site; the same site that the city also proposed building the new wastewater treatment facility on. The wastewater project has been going on for years with untold amounts of money going to secure the property in Metropolitan and develop the plans for the new facility. The city insisted that the proposed site in Metropolitan was absolutely the only location that would work when faced with opposition by neighboring property owners and residents of Rio Dell. Eventually, the city stated that it would not be building the new plant at Metropolitan but would be upgrading the existing property and expanding as needed. Again, these are just the quick examples I think of right away and there are many more issues with each project than I have the time to list here. The point is that the city has a long history of screwing up projects. Not to even mention the millions of dollars that the city has received over the years for the housing rehabilitation projects such as our own home. You can read about how the city administers grant money at the 2004-05 Humboldt County Grand Jury Report. The citizens have a good reason to be very concerned about the city and their intended project, history. 9.24.11 After receiving six settlement agreements that had been requested time and time again, we are still working on getting the remaining settlement agreements and the investigative report into the activities of the Public Works Department under then director Jim Hale. Recently, we received another stall letter from city attorney David Martinek who promises a response by Oct. 6. California public records are controlled by Government Code starting at section 6250 and there are very specific rules governing the release of records. There is no question that the final settlement agreements as well as the completed investigative report are public records required to be released upon request. There is a good summary of a similar records request into public officials and investigations at the First Amendment Coalition website which discusses the same excuses used by Martinek to deny our requests up to now. The excuse of 'personnel record' is absolutely not valid in these matters. The public right to know about the outcome of investigations into alleged wrongdoing outweighs the minimal expectation of privacy a public employee is entitled to. Even if the city didn't take any disciplinary action, the public has a valid interest in knowing the details and the city's conclusion regarding whether any misconduct took place. Hale was put onto administrative leave after punching a Rio Dell resident at the local Shell gas station; the argument was over the un-metered water line that Hale had run to his personal property during the major water infrastructure project. The city investigated the validity of the claim after it became public knowledge; Hale remained on paid administrative leave for months before allegedly 'resigning' his position according to Martinek. Then city manager Nancy Flemming took a great deal of heat from the council over the matter and eventually she 'resigned' as well. If no discliplinary action was taken in this matter then the rationale used by the city is just as important; why were there no consequences? The city has spent a great deal of money replacing equipment at public works that simply disappeared during Hale's tenure as well. The residents of Rio Dell have every right to know the outcome of that investigation. The city ultimately holds the responsibility for the denial of the public records requests and will be left holding the bag for defending Martinek's flawed legal reasoning (as usual). Gov't Code 6253.3 states 'a state or local agency may not allow another party to control the disclosure of information that is othewise subject to disclosure pursuant to this chapter.' Rio Dell can not escape their responsiblity for public records through their city attorney. It should be noted that even the letter stalling for time, which is one of many, violates the law. A public records request must be responded to within 10 days except for in 'unusual circumstances' wherein an extension by written notice is allowable. However that notice requires disclosure of the reasons why the extension is needed and there are very specific guidelines as to what constitutes an 'unusual circumstance' in Gov't Code Section 6253(c). Simply not wanting to release documents is not a valid reason. The city is currently soliciting bids for a new city attorney and we hope they manage to find a more qualified legal representative then the current one but that remains to be seen. As the city evaluates the qualifications of potential attorney's we would encourage them to explore their understanding of the public records laws. The citizens of Rio Dell are currently being denied their legal rights to know in matters of public interest and we will all continue to pay a very high price for this. If we are forced to pursue legal action to compel the release of public records then that is exactly what we will do as the city position is indefensible. We would encourage the council members and city manager to seek a second opinion from a qualified attorney before deciding to waste more tax payer money defending the ridiculous and implausible denials put forth by Martinek. It would be interesting to know how much money Martinek has charged the city so far for continuing to deny public records requests. 9.1.11 We finally received some of the records requested from the city attorney, David Martinek, with some of the settlement agreement documents. It has taken months of arguing back and forth regarding what is a public record and what are the disclosure requirements for the city. We find it hard to believe that the city has only been involved in six settlement agreements since 2003 but it is a start. Please take a look at the document (which is fully searchable) and tell us what you think or what you recall about the situation. As always, we appreciate the information we receive from confidential sources. There are a couple of questions that come to mind at first glance of these documents. Why did the city wind up paying Joe Enes $70,000 for property that the court had already granted an eminent domain action on with an assessed value of $9,700 (according to the minutes)? It seems odd that the city would have a court order giving them the authority to take the property needed for the proposed water tower but then enter into an agreement afterwards to pay well above the assessed value for the property. Take a look at the Joe Mintz documents; the city had to pull $7,500 gax tax funds, $75,200 of SLESF fund money, $40,000 of water fund money and $11,800 of TDA funds in order to pay a $105,112 judgment against the city. Over $40,000 of that total was interest as the judgment had gone unpaid for a decade. The documents open up a number of questions that will have to be looked into. The agenda for next Tuesday's council meeting will be posted shortly. We noticed that there is a resolution on the agenda to oppose the concept of railbanking the abandoned lines that run around Rio Dell. The agenda item is most likely put on the schedule by Jack Thompson who has expressed his views on railbanking in the past. It is ridiculous to think that the railway will be coming back to Humboldt County given the economic considerations as well as the geographic barriers in the area. A decent trail system running through the county would be a tourist draw as well as provide some much needed access to exercise to everyone. Railbanking has been very successful in other areas and trails have been converted back to railways when it was feasible. The railbanking initiative preserves the right of the railway while allowing the public to use the trails possible on these abandoned lines. A decent trail system through the redwoods and up the north coast would be a tourist destination while utilizing our natural resources in a sustainable way. The hope that the railroad is coming back to Humboldt County any day now is an illusion. 8.28.11 We received a prompt response from city manager Ron Henrickson to our letter requesting information re. the homes on Riverside that were not connected to the new main water line on the 2005 project. The letter was reported on our front page right after it was received but I wanted to link it here as well. We appreciated the quick response; particularly in light of the city attorney's stalling tactics on our Freedom of Information Act records request. The ongoing saga of trying to get public records required to be disclosed continues. Considering that Martinek has been the city attorney for the past 18 years, we aren't surprised that he is stonewalling the required release of public records. Check our the revamped Freedom of Information Act page that includes the ongoing saga as well as vital resources the public can use to find information or compel disclosure (eventually). The continuing fight with the city attorney to release records clearly provided for in California code will wind up costing the taxpayers dearly and certainly raise the question of what could they be trying so hard to hide? We have no intention of backing down on our request and will pursue court action if that is what it takes to make the city follow the law. The city manager may want to double check with an impartial attorney who doesn't have their professional neck on the line to confirm what is required to be disclosed. Scotia will be holding their historic vote on its future Tuesday! We hope they have a huge turn-out as this is a critical issue facing the town residents. Here is the candidate guide for the proposed Community Services Board. Good luck! 7.31.11 We are submitting a letter to the city asking some questions about the recently disclosed 25 homes on Riverside that were never provided new lateral connections to the major water main that was supposedly completed back in 2005. The city will be paying approx. $25,000 to hook them up out of the already tight budget. The city just passed the FY 2011-2012 capital budget which includes revenue of $658,725.33 and expenditures of $793,442.33. Not a great time to have to cover an unexpected major expense like this. We will post any information received and as always, we appreciate the information we continue to receive from sources. We are continuing to wait for any substantive response to the ongoing FOIA request for information related to settlement agreements reached by the city and paid out of public funds but never disclosed as required among other things. A post below provides links to the continuing saga of trying to get information from the city. The law is very clear on public disclosure and the city has been getting bad advice (or no advice) regarding their responsibilities. I enjoyed the recent article in the LA Times about the city attorney for Bell, CA that is being sued for his work leading to the current corruption scandal. Don't forget that the long standing corruption in cities such as Bell, Vernon, etc. was allowed to go on for years due to the citizen's failure to pay attention or become engaged in their local government. There were numerous people that benefitted in some manner from the cronyism that controlled the city and they are equally responsible for the actions of those they left in power. Perhaps some of the people that attended the last council meeting only for the portion about the Smartmeters might want to also start paying attention to other aspects that have a much more direct and immediate impact on everyone. Everyone in Rio Dell should read the Compensation Committee report regarding the state of the city finances. The constitutional arguments cited by some of those who spoke against the Smartmeters in the 7.19.11 council meeting confirm my belief that far too few people have read or understand the founding documents. We no longer have the Articles of Confederation as some people seem to believe with their advocating of states rights to pick and choose what federal laws they will observe for example. Some argued that the city has the authority to regulate public utilities within city limits. The city does not have the jurisdiction to enforce a moratorium against the installation of Smartmeters by a public utility that is clearly controlled by state and federal regulators. The California Constitution, Article 12, Section 8 provides that a city may not regulate matters that are delegated by the state to the California Public Utilities Commission. The only authority given to the city over utilities (Utilities code section 2902) includes only the "use and repair of the public streets by a public utility, the location of the poles, wires, mains or conduits of any public utility, on, under, or above any public streets, and the speed of common carriers operating with the limits of the municipal corporation." Pretty clear, no jurisdiction. There is a great memorandum to the city manager of Monterey CA regarding the issue of a moratorium that everyone should read here. Unfortunately, most of the attendees interest only included the Smartmeter issue and they didn't stick around for the budget update that shows the city running in the red or the $25,000 expenditure, the information on redistricting provided by our County Commissioner Clif Clendenen or anything else. The country is in a historic self inflicted financial crisis as the economy is held hostage by a faction of ideologues. As of this writing, no agreement has been made to raise the debt ceiling although supposedly negotiations are taking place. Many people appear to be confused over what the debt ceiling is; it only allows the government to pay the bills that had already been agreed to in the past. It does not permit any new spending! The current word out of D.C. is that the negotiations consist of the President and democrats giving the republicans everything they want and begging them to take it. The only "concession" is the so-called balanced budget amendment to the Constitution wouldn't be required to be passed but only required to have a vote. Seriously, that is the only concession on that side of the aisle and at that only a few republicans are going to vote for it. The slash and burn approach of boenher, which will absolutely put the country into a double dip recession, will be passed by a majority of democratic votes ironically enough. The political standoff is disgusting and no way to run a country! The entire basis of the government designed by the Founding Fathers demands compromise by the two parties for the good of the country. They knew that two parties, negotiating in good faith, would be more fair and even tempered rather than controlled by any single faction which creates tyranny. The actions of some in congress fit the description of economic terrorism and actively working for the collapse of the government aka treason. 7.20.11 Last night, the city held a very lengthy council meeting covering subjects from the Bear River Wind Project in study session to the city moratorium against Smartmeters to the capital budget. We will have the video up as soon as its done. No one other than the few "regulars" bothered to attend the study session about the wind project that will include running large electrical lines, possibly down Monument very near residences. I guess the fear of exposure to electromagnetic frequency waves only includes the Smartmeters and not the high voltage power lines. Shortly before the regular meeting began, a number of folks that have never attended a Rio Dell council meeting began arriving in anticipation of the Smartmeter presentation. The chamber filled up with folks from around the county and a few Rio Dell residents along with representatives from PG&E that had been invited to address the issue. The city had issued a moratorium against installation of the Smartmeters in individual homes within the city limits previously and the majority of folks in attendance congratulated the city for their actions. In essence, they support the government (Rio Dell) control over private property rights (individual home owners) dictating what a person can and can't do with their own property. It was hard to miss the irony of the people supporting the government control over their individual property while railing against the United Nations conspiracy to take over the world. I will write more a little later about the inconsistencies in the arguments as well as the misrepresentation of the Constitution (both state and federal) in defense of their argument. After the Smartmeter presentation, almost all of the attendees left. The critical issues of redistricting and the city budget apparently weren't of any interest. The city is budgeting $25,000 to complete the major water project that was supposed to have been done in 2005. Riverside Dr. received a new water main but it seems that 25 homes did not receive the new lateral water lines that would have connected them to the new water main. Why? We will have to get back to you about that one as we are mighty curious ourselves. The city had grants to cover the project back in 2005 and had signed off on the completion of the project. How did they miss 25 homes that weren't connected on a busy residential street? 7.13.11 We have had a busy start to summer so it has been awhile since any updates. The riodelltimes.com welcomes the new city council member, Frank Wilson, who replaces Marc Barsanti after his move to Scotia. There are a number of critical issues to get up to speed on regarding current and future city business for Wilson. The un-annexation of Blue Slide Rd. is one ongoing project the city is pursuing which has significant financial consequences for the cash strapped city. The upkeep of the known slide area costs much more than the city has and they are now regretting including that area in the recent annexation application that included the Eel River Sawmill site during Nancy Flemming's tenure. There had been an overly ambitious plan to build high end housing up in that area and the city began to have visions of tax money coming in from the anticipated $400,000 homes that were intended. During the annexation, issues such as who owns the road and must maintain it weren't considered apparently. It was only afterwards that an issue over the ongoing costs of maintenance came up between the owner, Anthony Micheli, and the city with the assistance of George Williamson of Planwest who has been the city planner for many years now. The county was responsible for the road before its annexation so it would stand to reason that the property would move to the city's responsilibity but the city argued that the property owner was responsible. In any case, the city has applied to LAFCo to unannex the property on an emergency basis. The Compensation Committee report detailing the financial situation the city is in should be required reading for everyone in Rio Dell. The ongoing deteriorating housing stock situation should be examined very closely in consideration of the millions in HUD grant money the city has been receiving for years. We have had our own experiences with the city, RCAA and the local building inspector (here) regarding the HUD housing program that is well documented in the 2004-2005 Grand Jury Report that give us reason for ongoing concern. The city denied our request for documents under the Freedom of Information Act for the third time, you can read it here. You can also read our reply here. The city absolutely has to disclose any and all final settlements along with each council members vote on the matter once the appeal period is over. City money is paid out for settlements in some manner which creates a public right to know under Government Code 54957.1(3)(A) & 54957.1(4). Here are the earlier letters: 3.19.11 Initial FOIA request, 3.29.11 response from city, 4.10.11 second FOIA request, 4.22.11 extension request, 5.5.11 second denial letter, 5.8.11 third FOIA request, 5.27.11 third denial letter. There is a planned rally before the next city council meeting in support of the city's ban on PG&E Smartmeters. Council member Thompson has addressed his opposition to the meters and his opposition to a lady from PG&E even being able to speak at the last public presentation section of the meeting (see highlight here). First, it is the public's right to address the council during this portion of the meeting whether or not a council member disapproves of their anticipated statements. Second, all she was trying to do was provide a phone number for people to call in order to be put on a list of folks that don't want the Smartmeters installed at this time. One of the reasons cited by Thompson in his opposition is referred to as Agenda 21 and it is part of a perceived conspiracy by the United Nations to take over the world and is linked to those that believe climate change is also a huge conspiracy. We are also opposed to the Smartmeters but for entirely different reasons; the wireless communications and the accuracy of the meters for example. The United States doesn't even pay their U.N. dues and we are going to let them take over the world? I don't think so. We ignore the U.N. whenever it suits us. There are lots of areas of concern to pay attention to such as the Patriot Act, the activist Supreme Court that is giving Constitutional rights to corporations, partisan divides being used to keep the masses distracted from the corporate take over, etc. We always encourage civic involvement but how about attending a council meeting once in a while and participating in your own local government for a start. There are numerous examples up and down California of why it is important to pay attention to local government, see Bell, Vernon, Maricopa, etc. 5.20.11 I received some information from Housing and Community Development regarding the blown CDBG funded project to replace six homes. Here is what they said "The City of Rio Dell and RCAA were working to replace dilapidated mobilehomes in a mobilehome park in Rio Dell with new replacement mobilehomes. The State of California’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program had entered into a contract with the City of Rio Dell for $500,000.00 of HOME funds on January 29, 2009 for an Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation program in the City of Rio Dell. No homes had been rehabilitated with the funding made available by the contract. Starting in January 2011, the City began discussions with my staff regarding the replacement of six mobilehomes in a Rio Dell Mobilehome park with new replacement mobilehomes. This is an eligible activity under this contract. However, because of the regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), only four homes could be replaced at one time. The contract’s expenditure deadline was April 30, 2011. We had been working with the City to extend the contract to allow the additional time needed to complete the review and approval process to replace four units as it was not possible to replace them before the April 30 expenditure deadline. Our direct contractor, the City of Rio Dell, informed my staff on April 28 that the City was withdrawing its request to extend this contract. Thus, no homes have been assisted by this contract. When necessary to make awards in this year’s funding competition, these funds will be cancelled and used to make awards to other eligible applicants." This is direct from Tom Bettencourt at HCD. You can watch the video of the 5.3.11 meeting to see residents affected by the failure to complete the project trying to get some information as they haven't been told anything due to "potential litigation." 5.15.11 We wanted to draw attention to a couple of things currently being debated that will have a big effect on the citizens of Rio Dell; the draft animal control ordinance and the change from a housing director to a community services director position for Kevin Caldwell. The animal control ordinance was discussed during a recent study session of the council and will be referred to the planning commission for debate according to the agenda for tuesdays council meeting. The city is looking at becoming the first jurisdiction to adopt an "animal breeding ordinance" with significant fines for unaltered dogs if an owner refused to have them fixed. Forced sterilization essentially. In the study session, the council agreed to add a breeding ordinance which would charge possibly $100 for owning an unaltered dog. Dog owners will want to pay attention to this issue; now would be the time to voice your opinion before any ordinance is final. There is a significant difference between responsible pet owners of pure bred dogs that don't want them altered versus the irresponsible owners that let their unaltered dogs run around creating unwanted litters of puppies. The city manager, Ron Henrickson, has expressed an interest in doing more tasks in-house rather than paying others to do things for the city since he began his tenure. He is an engineer himself which gives him an interesting perspective on the long term relationship the city has had with Winzler & Kelly as well as Planwest. The city has paid both companies huge amounts of money for city planning and engineering services that Henrickson would like to begin doing more of within city hall. Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) has profitted tremendously over the years from administering the large grants that the city receives for things such as housing development, etc. The new Community Development Director position will have responsibility for administering the CDBG grant program and authority over housing code compliance. Replacing the current system of inspection and "code compliance" would be a tremendous boost to the future of the city as the current system has created the deteriorating housing situation we are now faced with. When he was hired, Kevin Caldwell, received a number of glowing endorsements from some council meeting attendees who praised his abilities and we hope they are right. Rio Dell receives a lot of grant money directed at improving the community at large as well as housing but it never seems to do what it is intended to do. The community could greatly benefit by bringing these types of functions in-house if they are done correctly and not just a continuation of the same people that have brought us to where we're at. We wish Caldwell all the luck in the world as he faces an entrenched cronie system in Rio Dell. You can read the specifics of the contract and job duties in the council packet. The agenda for Tuesday's meeting also refers to "significant exposure" to 2 potential lawsuits which are most likely related to the blown CDBG project at the mobile home park on Painter St. at Wildwood Ave. Watch the video of the last meeting which includes some of the people affected by this failure that can't get any answers from the city due to "pending litigation." RCAA receives a lot of our grant money administering the projects just like this one. We encourage the attempt to get rid of their involvement! We finally received copies of the employment contracts for former city manager Nancy Flemming and former public works director Jim Hale. It seems like Hale was the public works director before Flemming signed the contract in 2007; we don't know if there was a previous contract to this one. The city has not wanted to provide the other information asked for in our Freedom of Information Act request but we will continue to pursue it to the full extent of the law. The law is very clear about disclosing things such as settlements or agreements finalized that cost public money. The financial crisis identified in the Rio Dell Compensation Committee Report must not be the urgent situation described as the topic hasn't come up in any of the meetings for quite awhile now. There are two council positions coming up in the November elections; Marc Barsanti and Jack Thompson. 5.3.11 Congratulations to our United States Navy SEALs that successfully brought down the mass murderer osama bin laden who was hiding in Pakistan. It has been a long time in coming and we are grateful that resources were rededicated to finding and eliminating the puppet master behind the attacks of Sept. 11th. All of America couldn't be prouder of their skilled special forces units! There was a council meeting and study session held this evening where a number of interesting topics were discussed, including yet another "potential litigation" situation discussed below. First, the study session was to discuss the draft animal control ordinance proposed by Chief Hill. There will be a couple of more study sessions regarding this so there is time to offer some input or ask questions. The fees are going to be increased and may include $100 annual fee for an unaltered dog and an additional fee for litters of puppies. Other items learned include; the city police have hired back David Lungi to fill a position recently vacated in Rio Dell and the city pays for 70% of employee's dependent(s) healthcare costs which amounts to tens of thousands of dollars. Finally, we learned that a major CDBG funded project to replace substandard trailers with new mobile homes for six Rio Dell families in the park at Wildwood Ave and Painter St. had fallen through for mysterious reasons surrounding "potential litigation." Multiple people addressed the council about this suddenly failed project that had been in the works for a long time according to them (video coming soon). A gentleman from W&W Mobile Home Sales in Eureka said they had spent countless hours working on the roughly $500,000 project that would have provided much improved housing for qualified local families as well as tax revenue with increased property value. Two other residents voiced their obvious frustration with the city and the way the project was handled; they had no answers to their questions of what happened. Mayor Pro Tem Melissa Marks was only able to say that under advice of legal counsel, they weren't allowed to talk about the issue at all. According to the council packet from the 4.5.11 meeting, there was a March 15th 5:00pm special meeting of the HOME loan advisory committee (we never received the public notice from the city) where all six of the mobile home packages were approved (page two of the attachments to the council packet). The loans had to be approved and the homes in place by April 21st but Fela Maisonet of Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA) said they could meet that deadline. The motion to approve was carried 4-1 with Marks dissenting after earlier voicing her disappointment with how RCAA was managing the CDBG program. Then the 4.5.11 meeting included a closed door session titled "conference with legal counsel-anticipated litigation CDBG rehabilitation loan portfolio concerns 2010." The council packet for the 4.19.11 meeting includes the minutes from the 4.5.11 meeting where "Mayor Woodall announced the item discussed in closed session and stated the council took action in closed session to authorize staff to address uninsured CDBG properties." Is this why the project failed? Lack of insurance? Or are there more problems than just the mobile homes project? What about that "anticipated litigation?" We will be posting information as it becomes available. As always, we appreciate the many tips and tidbits we receive from our community members. 4.23.11 Happy Easter weekend! We hope everyone has a great holiday spent with family and friends. There was a story about the April 5th grand opening of the new bathrooms in Fireman's Park recently in the Humboldt Beacon. The story doesn't mention what the open hours of the bathroom are going to be or who is responsible for unlocking the facility, etc. *I checked the bathrooms at 3:47pm today (Saturday) and they were locked. The kids playing in the park at the time would have really appreciated being able to use those bathrooms. The bathroom project has been a perfect example of the botched up way that Rio Dell has approached every capital improvement project that we have seen since moving here. We are glad that there will be a decent bathroom to use at the park but the whole episode has been fascinating to watch as it has taken years to complete and the planned drinking fountain had to be eliminated due to cost over runs. In a posting back in Feb., I talked about the latest twist in the project: (from 2.4.11) "Have you noticed the nice new bathrooms going in to Fireman's Park? They will be a huge improvement over the Porta-Potty that has been located there. Wendt Construction is completing the project that was engineered by Winzler & Kelly and approved by the fire commission and the city. The city had secured a $220,000 grant for the bathroom facilities; Winzler had quoted $60,000 for their services which would have left $160,000 for the project. After approval, the bill from Winzler jumped to over $100,000 which didn't leave enough to actually build the project; the plans had to be scaled back a lot in response. At the 1.18.11 City Council meeting, it was learned that the service lines going to the new bathroom were only 3/4" rather than the 2" that is needed; additional costs were going to be incurred to fix the service lines. The toilets wouldn't flush with the smaller diameter pipes in the brand new bathroom. Isn't that something that should have been discovered earlier in the project? Was it a secret that the service lines were only 3/4" pipe? Wendt has bid an additional $3,210 to upgrade the water service line. Finding out the service lines were insufficient for the job after the new bathroom is almost complete is fairly standard for how Rio Dell does capital improvements. Just like the May St. non-subdivision debacle where service lines and roads were put in after the homes were built. Wendt Construction had to come in and help the city fix the "messed up" project (being generous) that had been done by Myers Construction." The article also has a thank you from the city to a few people that were instrumental in the project (according to the city); including Merritt Perry from Winzler & Kelly (see above), Dennis Wendt who was the builder and Arnie Kemp of Kemp Inspection Service. In what appears to be an attempt to salvage his local reputation, Kemp supposedly volunteered his time to "inspect" the project. Judging by the local state of Rio Dell housing and construction, this person has a lot to try and make up to the citizens of Rio Dell. Here is a copy of the structural report done on our home after Kemp had "inspected" it on more than one occasion. Severe health & safety code violations that posed a direct threat to the lives of our family in our earthquake prone environment were blatantly ignored by Kemp. Why? What was there to gain by not doing his job and requiring structural repairs to be done out of the CDBG rehabilitation grant money? That is exactly what the money is supposed to be used for first and foremost. The "project manager" Larry Miller of RCAA demanded we not spend any of the money on repairs to the failing foundation and Kemp backed him up (the more you spend, the less there is to misappropriate). Miller brought in his contractor, Joe Buccola of Ferndale, to do some cosmetic repairs which he couldn't even manage to do without screwing up the house such as cracking the rafters and having overhead cabinets falling off of the walls. These guys have been doing projects for years in Rio Dell, using up millions of dollars in grant money. Yet the state of housing in Rio Dell has continued to deteriorate over that same time frame. The new Housing Director of Rio Dell, Kevin Caldwell, will have to address the problems created over so many years by these guys and other cronies. Why do the two houses built by Joe Enos directly behind city hall have over ground utilities and no paved driveway connected to the city street on one, both of which are required by city code? Enos has told us directly that "Arnie Kemp is my friend" and it appears to be true from what we see. The requirement for under ground utilities has been in place for a number of years, according to the city, yet houses on May St. were built without them. May St. is a whole other example of failed projects. The citizens of Rio Dell can't afford to continue paying the price for these guys and assuming total financial liability for their activities as the city has done. If Rio Dell is ever going to improve its housing and overall quality of life then the cronies that have created the current state of affairs need to go. The housing situation has deteriorated miserably for years, why would the city continue the same actions that have created the problem? The city needs to return to county inspection services and building codes need to finally be enforced equally and without favor for a select few. I am posting the three financial audits that were available from the city website. Hopefully, people can take a look at these and help decipher the information. Take a look at the 2007/2008 audit report page 40 regarding the CDBG money and see if you can figure out why the large discrepency between the budgeted amounts and the actual amounts. We're talking about a $1.1 million dollar variance with revenue in the red and $496,217 variance with the net change in fund balance. 2005/2006 audit report - 2006/2007 audit report - 2007/2008 audit report. The 2006/2007 audit report notes significant deficiences in the city's financial controls, stating that the "City of Rio Dell does not have adequate controls over the year end financial reporting." It should be noted that the cities of Bell and Vernon, as well as many others, have also received good audit reports right up until they were busted for financial fraud and other crimes. Here is a good story about similar audits in Montebello CA (they are now consulting with bankruptcy attorneys). All three of the Rio Dell audits refer to a seperate letter given to the city regarding "certain other matters" of concern; we will be requesting copies of those letters. 4.6.11 Happy April! Hope you plan on attending the Love in any Language dinner and auction fundraiser for Scotia School at the Winema Theatre on April 9th-Flyer. They are facing over $78,000 in additional budget cuts and will lose their music program without community support. Come enjoy a great dinner, bid on some interesting donated items and artwork and watch the kids perform on stage. The Scotia pool and gym are also opening up to the Scotia/Rio Dell community for limited days and hours with help from a local church and their generous donation of insurance coverage as well as volunteers. The pool will be open on the first and third Friday of each month and the gym will be open three days a week; both have a very minimal fee to cover expenses. I will post more specific hours as soon as I have them or drop by the gym and check it out. At last night's Rio Dell city council meeting, there was an interesting presentation of opposing sides of the railbanking issue that were conflicting and no action was taken at this time. The council members were given an opportunity to ask questions or make a statement regarding the issue after each side had a chance to speak. Former mayor and current city councilmember Richard 'Bud' Leonard spoke of his advancing age and physical condition as reasons why he, personally, couldn't use the proposed trail and stated his belief that if he can't personally benefit from it then why in the world should he vote for it. I was shocked at his statement but unfortunately not surprised considering this is the same person who was yelling at a constituent, from the Mayor's seat, that they were an "a..hole!" (audio clip here). In any case, the selfishness and greed demonstrated by his sincerely held belief is a fundamental reason why the city, state and nation are suffering. Mr. Leonard may not be aware that he was elected into office as a representative of the residents (allegedly) and not simply himself or a select few cronies. In a representative democracy like ours, the elected officials are entrusted to try and protect the common good of their constituents. Why should he vote for something that he personally can't reap some tangible benefit from? Because it is in the best interest of the community at large, that is why! We see demonstrations daily of the same selfishness in other politicians who are only interested in their own personal gain and political future but rarely do they actually come right out and say it. If there is nothing in it for me, then why should I vote for it? Sickening! Speaking of railbanking...it is a great idea that needs to happen up and down the rail line in the county. The trains will never be able to come back to the area without a massive investment of money rebuilding and realigining the entire railway which is not likely to happen any time soon. The rail line simply isn't practical in the area due to areas such as the Scotia bluffs where the maintenance costs to repair the frequent slide damage was outrageous. If the country ever pulls its collective blinders off and actually begins to invest in the basic infrastructure needed to provide for any future growth, then the trails can be returned to the rail lines. The rail lines can be converted to trails for nonmotorized travel by foot, bike or horse which allows them to be used by locals and tourists alike. This is a practical way of maximizing the potential of the existing railway while still preserving the right to reinstate the railroad if it ever becomes economically feasible. 3.31.11 It is almost April and we have had a very wet start to spring to say the least. The whole area is saturated, having received 16.47 inches of rain this month at Eel River Camp on Hwy 101. Roads are damaged all over and Hwy 101 is now shut down by a massive land slide just down the road. The area is prone to slides due to the sedimentary rock that comprises our subduction zone land; that is why the annexed property is named Blue Slide Rd. The city became liable for the repair and maintenance of Blue Slide Rd. when it annexed property owned by Anthony Micheli who was proposing a large subdivision with upscale housing along the banks of the Eel River. Now the city is working hard to unload that potential fiscal nightmare before something happens (like the too frequent slides that shut down the road and require repair). New City Manager, Ron Henrickson, is an engineer who has come to the city with development experience in Washington State. I can only imagine what he thought when he realized Rio Dell annexed a known liability like Blue Slide Rd. without a signed development agreement with the property owner. The development has been in the works for a long time; past illegal city manager Jay Parrish helped Mr. Micheli put in the bocce' court at Fireman's Park to appeal to the anticipated home buyers. Former city manager Nancy Flemming sealed the deal; we still don't know the behind the scenes details of that whole tenure. The entire process was overseen by city planner George Williamson of Planwest; including the annexation process and the planned development overlay. I have to wonder if Williamson ever advised the city that it should have a signed development agreement with the owner before spending the money and time to annex (mostly the money!) the known liability. The city pays for the knowledge and advice of an expert so I would think they should know that a development agreement would be expected. I would not be surprised if LAFCo didn't accept back the responsibility of repair and maintenance of Blue Slide Rd. simply because Rio Dell didn't think it through but we will have to see. The city is working on de-annexing the property which is something not usually done so the likelihood of it succeeding is up in the air. The city imposed an emergency moratorium against development on the property for six months while they pursue the de-annexation. In the meantime, the drastic proposals contained in the Compensation Committee Report are still on the table but we haven't heard about the progress for awhile now. Just in case you have forgotten, the report states that the current fiscal situation in Rio Dell is unsustainable and drastic changes are needed right away. The report talks about considering disbanding the police department and contracting with the Sheriff as well as unincorporating the city and moving to a community services district model. We recently put in a public records request asking for a few things as well as an update to the report since the meetings held awhile ago that we attended. Additionally, we have requested the city email us the entire council packet prior to the public meetings when they are provided to the council members as provided for in the Brown Act. It is impossible to know what the agenda titles mean without the supporting material which is not available on the city website prior to the meeting usually; if you are able to get there during business hours then you can view the packet at city hall. The city holds frequent "public hearings" as they are required to do for certain items but since the public has no idea what the hearing concerns other than the brief agenda title, they can't meaningfully participate either in person or by writing. The "public hearing" is in name only. I have pointed this out to the council during meetings on numerous occasions. We will post the entire council packet as soon as we receive it so you can review the material and (hopefully) participate in your local government as is your right and your responsibility. There are numerous examples in the news of other California communities dealing with public corruption and fraud that has been going on for years and years (see Bell, Cudahy City or Vernon to start with). People looked the other way while a few ran the city as their own personal kingdom and residents feared retaliation by the city. In Bell, using code enforcement and car towing as weapons against citizens was common for example. These areas are not unique, they have simply made the news for recently being exposed. 3.4.11 City moratorium due to 'current and immediate threat to public health' according to the city - Humboldt Beacon However this isn't at all true! The moratorium against development applications in the Blue Slide Rd area that is being de-annexed is specifically to make the process easier. The city anticipates spending $10-$12,000 to process the application to LAFCo for 'detachment' (aka un-annexation) and a development application coming in would only complicate matters and make un-annexation much more difficult. Apparently the ordinance blames an un-named 'immediate threat to public health' as the reason but in all of the meetings and study sessions I have attended, there has never been a discussion about a threat to the public health. There is absolutely a threat to the public wallet however with this land grab that was so poorly done. The owner of the land that the city wanted revenue from, Anthony Micheli, planned to build a very upscale housing development of $400,000 homes along the Eel River when the market was hot. Why a person would want to buy a $400,000 house in Rio Dell along a river that could flood at any time never made sense to me but that is beside the point. Micheli even put in the bocce' court at Fireman's Park to appeal to his anticipated home buyers during the tenure of illegal City Manager Jay Parrish. Under City Manager Nancy Flemming, the city proceeded to change zoning in that area for the development as well as annexed the entire area without any signed development agreement, according to city staff. The city was also annexing parts of Metropolitan at the same time; including the former Eel River Sawmill area where the city wanted to put its planned multi-million dollar wastewater treatment facility. Due to whatever reasons, the development never got off the ground and then the housing market crashed. The development of that property on Blue Slide Rd never happened but the city was left with the newly annexed area. The new City Manager, Ron Henrickson, is an engineer and it didn't take long to realize the city was stuck for the maintainance and repair of the road. It isn't called 'blue slide' for no reason! He has stated that in all of his years in local government, he has never had to even consider an un-annexation of property but this is exactly what needs to happen. The failure to get a signed agreement has left the city completely on the hook without any recourse. The city is including the natural resources land behind the Eel River Sawmill site to the un-annexation application to sweeten the deal to LAFCo. Since they are typcially interested in protecting natural resource land, they might be more likely to accept back the liability of Blue Slide Rd. if they also get more desireable land back. Read the minutes of the 2.15.11 Joint City Council and Planning Commission study session within the council packet of 3.1.11 to see further discussion of the un-annexation issue. The videos will be up soon as well. Sunshine Week is coming up March 13-19! Your right to know what is going on in your local government is just as important as your responsibility to participate! We will continue to post the information but it takes more than just us to provide a level of public scrutiny which is a critical component to effective and honest government. The Freedom of Information Act is a critical tool for the public and has been used successfully numerous times in the past. The well publicized city corruption in Bell and Vernon California are yet another example of what goes on when the public doesn't participate. 2.4.11 Have you noticed the nice new bathrooms going in to Fireman's Park? They will be a huge improvement over the Porta-Potty that has been located there. Wendt Construction is completing the project that was engineered by Winzler & Kelly and approved by the fire commission and the city. The city had secured a $220,000 grant for the bathroom facilities; Winzler had quoted $60,000 for their services which would have left $160,000 for the project. After approval, the bill from Winzler jumped to over $100,000 which didn't leave enough to actually build the project; the plans had to be scaled back a lot in response. At the 1.18.11 City Council meeting, it was learned that the service lines going to the new bathroom were only 3/4" rather than the 2" that is needed; additional costs were going to be incurred to fix the service lines. The toilets wouldn't flush with the smaller diameter pipes in the brand new bathroom. Isn't that something that should have been discovered earlier in the project? Was it a secret that the service lines were only 3/4" pipe? Wendt has bid an additional $3,210 to upgrade the water service line. Finding out the service lines were insufficient for the job after the new bathroom is almost complete is fairly standard for how Rio Dell does capital improvements. Just like the May St. non-subdivision debacle where service lines and roads were put in after the homes were built. Wendt Construction had to come in and help the city fix the "messed up" project (being generous) that had been done by Myers Construction. The city is looking into whether they can "un-annex" two areas that had very recently been annexed in to the city. The property out Bellevue includes Blue Slide Rd. which makes the city responsible for maintaining that road which is sliding down the river and is a maintenance nightmare/bottomless pit. During the meetings regarding annexing this area, George Williamson of Planwest stated his belief that the responsibility for maintaining the road would fall on the property owner. Here is what I wrote about this back in Dec. 2009: "The video of the discussion (in part I and the beginning of part II) has an interesting debate over who would be responsible for maintaining or opening that section of Blue Slide Rd (which earned its name with many landslides). The city planner, George Williamson of Planwest, contends that when the city annexed the property (at Micheli's request) the responsibility for that section of road went from the county to property owner. He stated that since Micheli owned both sides of the road, he was responsible for it. Micheli obviously argued that the responsibility would have gone from the county to the city in the annexation." The new city manager has realized that the city is in a very bad position with that road and we need to return it to the county if at all possible. The city will have to pay for various studies, etc. and then present their request to LAFCo that may or may not approve it. 1.22.11 The big news that isn't getting much attention by Rio Dell residents these days continues to be the drastic changes proposed in the Compensation Committee Report. Restructuring the police department and city hall, city wide assessments, new housing standards, and all of the other proposed changes will have a profound effect on each resident and the future direction of the city yet it is still difficult to get citizen involvement in the planning process. Communication problems have long been an issue between the city and the residents; there are only a few notable exceptions to public meetings held with few people bothering to show up for example. The problem goes both directions; city hall does a very poor job of making information widely available and the citizens have abducated their responsibilities of oversight for a number of reasons. The most common reason we hear is "city hall will just do what they want anyway so why bother?" That is a hard sentiment to argue against since it has proven to be true time and again. The lack of involvement has made things pretty easy for the council over the years. It is the same type of cycle that the city of Bell CA found themselves in until the depth of the corruption in city hall was finally reported by the Los Angeles Times recently. I also just posted a link to a story about Prince George County on the East Coast that has a similar problem with long term corruption and a well-deserved reputation that prevents their county from being able to move forward. They have chosen to publicly fight the corruption to restore the trust of the community and repair their seriously damaged city image. We will continue to advocate for drastic systemic changes within the city which would include the public acknowledgement of issues such as the unmetered 2nd water line run to then Public Works Director Jim Hale's residence and any settlement or consequences. The deafening silence on these types of activities creates an environment that tolerates and even promotes such actions and clearly demonstrates that there are no consequences for serious abuses of the public trust. There are frequent whispers of problems caused by a former city manager that has cost the city dearly but again they are never acknowledged publicly. These types of possibly illegal actions are not protected by the rules governing personnel matters but that is the excuse given for not disclosing problems such as misappropriation of public funds, etc. If the city wants to ask the citizens to approve higher rates or new fees then they will have to have assurances that the activities of the past are just that...in the past. This will never happen without a public cleansing of city hall; following the money where ever it may lead! The city has to get rid of the people that have been involved in creating the problems all of these years. It is impossible to change the direction of the city with the same cronies that have been the beneficiaries of the current system. If the city continues to try and move ahead with the changes recommended in the committee report without a drastic change in personnel then they are demonstrating that they are not serious about real change and are only providing "window dressing" to the residents. How could they hope to improve the increasing stock of substandard housing in Rio Dell with the same building inspector who has been approving illegal permits and ignoring substantial health & safety code violations which have brought us to where we are now, for example? The move to manage the housing in Rio Dell locally rather than paying RCAA huge fees to do it for us is a very good idea in principle. This helps to get rid of some of the people who have contributed to making Rio Dell the haven for substandard housing by questionable contractors which it has become over the years. This needs to be the first step in a drastic restructuring of how the city conducts its day to day business however, not the last. Much more on this issue to come... 1.12.11 Yesterday, the city held a meeting with members of the community that were invited to discuss the Compensation Committee Report. I attended the evening meeting along with about 10 other community members, City Manager Ron Henrickson, Councilmembers Melissa Marks and Jack Thompson and Planning Commission Chair Dave Gonzalez. There was a very good back and forth discussion for approximately an hour and half. There will be a public hearing on the report on Jan. 18th. The city is doing a much better attempt at soliciting involvement by the community than they have done in the past and Henrickson was given a lot of credit by the other members of the committee for his efforts. The report has some very drastic recommendations in it that are going to affect every member of the community in some way so it would be a nice departure from the norm if there was public involvement in the development of the city. We will continue to post all of the information that we can get our hands on for you to make up your own mind but we ask that you please take the time to read the documents for yourself. The city absolutely has to make drastic changes as quickly as possible since what they have been doing is obviously not working. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting different results. The streets and housing in Rio Dell, along with the business district, have been deteriorating for years at the same time the city has brought in huge amounts of grant money for a wide variety of studies, projects, programs, etc. but the promised outcome never seems to happen. I have lost track how many studies Rio Dell has paid for with Winzler & Kelly usually the beneficiaries or PlanWest. The city has been receiving large amounts of HUD money in the form of CDBG grants for many years now specifically for rehabilitating the housing in town which should be a win/win situation for the new homeowner and the city. Yet the housing stock continues to deteriorate to the point where the city has proposed creating the position of city housing director with rental codes that can be enforced along with a goal of improving the substandard housing within five years among other things. The town needs to ask where did all that money go? As we found with our own housing rehab project through the First Time Homebuyers Program, the money is not being used to repair severe health and safety code violations, it isn't being used to repair failing foundations with post and piers not touching due to earthquake damage years ago, the money isn't being used to pay for legal permits, and so on and so forth. So where does it go? How can the citizens of Rio Dell approve a much needed street bond measure that would, if used properly, benefit the entire community when the city has such a history of money disappearing? I am all for a city housing director seperate from the corporate non-profit RCAA which charges large fees to administer the city money as they see fit. Again, from personal experience we have seen how they "administer" the money and the city should not use them to manage the housing programs as they have been. However, if the city plans on continuing to use the same building inspector who has helped create the "substandard housing" crisis in Rio Dell then I am afraid the city will continue to pay the price. There are many examples of the problem throughout town; the May St. non-subdivision debacle, the above ground utility lines on new construction, non-ADA compliant new sidewalks on Ireland, etc. The city can't improve the housing situation using the exact same people involved in creating the problem in the first place. For those that don't believe someone who they consider their friend would ever do something underhanded to their buddies; they said the same thing about former Rio Dell Mayor Rich Ghirlarducci before the fraud that brought down Humboldt Creamery came to light. The best way the city could prove that it is serious about making drastic improvements that would benefit the entire city is to begin and try to investigate and recover at least some of the public money that has "disappeared" from the city; there must be consequences or there is no incentive to change. How can the city ask for more money when there have been no consequences for any of the public money that simply vanishes? The city needs to make a stand against the actions of the past, both recent and over the years, and publicly investigate their own if that is where the money leads. As they say...follow the money! We have no problem paying fees for things such as improved streets, decent sidewalks and street lighting as they are important improvements for the entire community but we have to have at least some level of faith that the money will be used as promised. No unmetered water lines put in to former city officials property as just one example. It is going to be interesting to see how this all develops; I imagine at least some level of resistance from those that have been benefiting from the current situation. 1.5.11 The city recently produced a report called the Compensation Committee Report that recommends some very drastic changes for the city that will have profound effects on the future of the community. I have read the report and encourage everyone else to take a minute or two and carefully read the document. The committee began looking at compensation which was determined to be generally poor in relation to other communities. The overall problems of the city with virtually no revenue other than grants, deteriorating housing, some of the worst roads in the county, etc. were then evaluated as it is all inter-related. A number of interesting and some very surprising recommendations have been put forward in the report. A city wide street assessment of $305 per parcel per year is recommended in order to repair all city roads within two years. Eliminating the position of Public Works Director is recommended for a savings of $114,000 a year. The report also seriously looks at dissolving the Rio Dell Police Department and contracting with the Sheriff's Department as this would save a significant amount of money. Un-incorporating the city and forming a Community Services District is also examined which is ironic considering the harsh statements about the inadequacies of a CSD when they were trying to annex Scotia. The report outlines three goals with the first one being "within 5 years eliminate all sub-standard housing in the city." That is a noble goal but it is going to take some drastic action to end the status quo of the building department. The city has been "served" by the same building inspector for many years now and a quick look at the rapidly deteriorating sub-standard housing throughout town indicates that a new course is desperately needed. In 2002, 63% of housing in Rio Dell was determined to be in need of rehabilitation and things have gone downhill since then, according to the city report. The city has had a community development block grant funded housing rehabilitation program for a number of years that should have been making significant improvements in this area however, as we found with our own situation, the money has not gone into the homes to make the needed health and safety repairs. If the city wants to increase revenue then they should look at why the inspector has conducted building inspections without the city having a paid permit application on file. Every taxpayer is being ripped off by lost revenue as well as the homeowner who doesn't receive a legal permit. Why would an inspector do this? You would have to ask him; or ask city hall which has known about the problem all along and stated to the grand jury that no changes to this system were warranted, according to former city manager/mayor Jay Parrish. The arbitrary use of fees and permits have been a big issue with the scandel going on in Bell California which provides a very good example of cronies gone wild that Rio Dell can learn from. A serious house cleaning at city hall is going to be needed in order for Rio Dell to move forward. There will be public meetings on the proposals that will allow for community input but if the past is any indicator, most people won't bother to pay attention. |
12.31.10 It is hard to believe that the end of a decade has come so quickly! It has been a very busy year in Rio Dell with the failed annexation bid and the new city manager taking over. A new council takes office on Jan. 4th with former mayor and council member Richard "Bud" Leonard taking the place of Mike Dunker. The council will then vote on who will serve as mayor and mayor pro tem; currently those positions are filled by Julie Woodall and Melissa Marks respectively. The meeting has a long agenda with a number of items to address including three public hearings. The city intends to adopt the state building codes as the municipal codes which is fine; the real issue is whether the code will be followed in Rio Dell or not. You can make a code anything you want, if it isn't consistently applied to everyone then it is just hypocrisy. The arbitrary enforcement of fees in Bell provides a good example of the same type of activities. Take notice of the overhead power lines running to the two newer houses up behind City Hall (and the one that doesn't have a paved driveway connecting to the city street). Observe the May St. "non-subdivision" at the gateway to town or the lack of an ADA cut-out at the crosswalk near the school at Ireland. The near-by driveway doesn't meet the requirements because it is too steep. The most basic provisions of the health & safety codes were ignored in our own experiences by the city building inspector. There is an excellent write-up of our experiences since buying our home in Rio Dell here. The new city manager, Ron Henrickson, is an engineer from Washington State so it will be interesting to watch him as the problems with that department becomes glaringly obvious. The city has been distancing itself from the sweetheart relationship it has held with Winzler & Kelly for so many years as well. The sewer rates will be going up as of March 1st, 2011. The council will decide at the next meeting how high the increase will be, between 13-15%. The city is at risk of losing the huge federal grant needed for the new sewer treatment plant. There was obvious tension between the city and Winzler & Kelly at the 12.7.10 study session with blame being deflected by both sides. The city is also planning on enacting a "urgent moratorium" against the installation of the state mandated Smartmeters by PG&E within the city limits. The State of California is in deep fiscal trouble with the new governor being sworn in at a time of massive deficits and blind opposition to any form of increasing revenue, including closing loopholes that are being exploited. Tremendous cuts to the social safety net are expected at the very time families are suffering with jobs disappearing, costs rising and medical expenses going through the roof. The state is going to be suffering the ramifications of the short-term measures that will further erode the already struggling public school system, reduce funding to child care putting thousands of families in jeopardy, the reductions to departments such as child welfare and foster youth programs that further exploit those already suffering. Federally we are in just as big a mess with a group of people determined to bring the government to a grinding halt for their own ideological and greedy purposes. The gridlock in Washington wasn't bad enough? Now we have those that campaigned on a promise of obstructionism and anarchy. The Constitution is under a direct attack by those that proclaim their devotion to the document. The GOP/Fox News want to repeal the 14th Amendment, which has been a goal of theirs for awhile, based on the emotional argument of "anchor babies" at a time when the economy is looking for scapegoats. The real target of the movement is the primary provision of the amendment; "Equal Protection of the Law." This amendment says "No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law." Consider what they are trying to take away from all of us. Another movement wants to disband the federalist system of government the Founders created. Their amendment to allow states to pick and chose what federal laws they feel like following is a direct attack to the very foundation of this country yet it is getting serious attention by the most extreme political ideologues. It is scary times in the country with the nuts taking over the asylum. Let's hope that 2011 is a good year for us all. It is the Year of the Rabbit on the Chinese calendar which, if you believe in these things, means it will be a lucky and calm year. Sounds pretty good to me. -Sharon 9.21.10 I didn't realize it had been so long since I had updated this page, sorry! We have been busy with the Scotia annexation saga which finally came to an end at the 9/15/10 LAFCo meeting when they voted 6-1 to allow a Community Services District. The city has been pushing to annex Scotia since 2006 and one of the primary cheerleaders has been former Mayor Bud Leonard. Leonard has been a staunch supporter of the annexation no matter what since day one; including having put Jay Parrish into the city manager position illegally in order to push the annexation through (among other reasons). So needless to say I was surprised at the sudden flip-flop Leonard demonstrated at Tuesday's meeting when he said it was actually a good thing we didn't annex because of the tremendous cost of upgrading the infrastructure and other liabilities that we all would have been on the hook for. These reasons have been brought to his attention by numerous citizens over the years and have always been dismissed. Hyprocrisy has no bounds... In the meantime, keep your eyes on the continuing wastewater project. The plan now is to build the new plant on the same site as the existing plant and then pump the treated wastewater over to Metropolitan to be irrigated on the property near the river. The remaining sludge, which is exactly what you think it is, has been disposed of at the top of Monument on the Dinsmore Plateau which will continue. One of the first things we heard about when we moved here was about the flow of water off of the mountain and the problems it causes. So the next time you see the water coming off of Monument, just know that it also contains the sludge from our wastewater treatment system. We are happy that the cities plan to pump the untreated waste from Scotia over to Rio Dell across the Eel River will not happen now that annexation talks have ended! There are three council positions coming up on the November ballot. Mayor Julie Woodall, Melissa Marks and Mike Dunker are all running for re-election. There are numerous ballot issues as well so please pay attention and get out to vote! The ongoing scandal in Bell California was due in large part to a lack of public participation. They were allowed to do whatever they wanted and ran the city as their own fiefdom (sound familiar?). There is no valid excuse for failing to vote! 4.30.10 It has been an interesting week and May looks to be eventful for the area as well. Tuesday was a meeting at the Scotia Inn regarding the recently annexed area of the former Eel River Sawmill site and the required Brownfield clean up project for the toxins left by years of industrial production. Not a single person from the community bothered to attend other than the property owner, Dennis Wendt, his engineer and a gentleman trying to open a motocross track at the site along with Interim City Manager Jim Stretch and Finance Director Stephanie Beauchaine and the consultants. Rio Dell "owns" that area with the annexation that was specifically for the wastewater treatment facility that we have all been told was critical to the town. There is more about the meeting at the post below from 4.27.10. Wednesday was a Planning Commission meeting regarding the Scotia Annexation, the annexations in Metropolitan and Blue Slide Rd., general plan element update and medical marijuana dispensaries. The commission voted 4-1 to ban dispensaries entirely with Alice Millington dissenting. The matter will go before the city council next Tuesday. Not a single person from the community managed to attend other than myself, my daughter and chief assistant and the spouse of a commissioner. It would appear that no one actually gives a darn about what the town does one way or the other. Perhaps that is why Rio Dell is the way it is? In any case, there is updated information at the Annexation page including videos from the recent meetings and the many handouts that are being distributed by both sides. There will be a meeting on May 11th at 6:30pm at Rio Dell City Hall regarding the annexation. Now would be the time to place any bets on whether or not anyone bothers to show up. Thursday included a meeting with Interim City Manager Jim Stretch regarding the annexation. If anyone has questions they would like to ask or are seeking information than you should contact Stretch at City Hall and schedule a time to speak. The same goes for Frank Bacik at the Town of Scotia. We will continue to post the information provided by both sides so that community members can decide for themselves what is in the best interests of their community. Friday involved a weird confrontation with someone named Eric at the top of the road leading to the Dinsmore Plateau site. We were told about that landing when we first moved in by locals as a fantastic view of the city and the surrounding bluffs, which it is. We have gone up there many times to take panoramic photographs of our area and there has never been a problem as we remain clearly out of the posted private property area. Today was different. When Steve and Marylynn were about to leave after taking some pictures, this Eric person drove up and told them that they were on private property and were trespassing so they had to leave. Steve was going to get in the car to leave when he told Eric that he needs to post a private property or no trespassing sign at the bottom of the road if it is private property as he had claimed (we always respect all posted private property signs!). Eric didn't appreciate the advice and claimed that he was calling the police as he was a personal friend of Police Chief Graham Hill. Steve and Marylynn waited for the police to arrive with a suspiciously agitated Eric who appeared to be very nervous about anyone being near the plateau property. *It should be noted that this property was recently owned by Jordan Pyhtila who was developing the lot with money being laundered from his large scale marijuana operation. He is currently serving six years in a federal prison for his activities. The city received $205,000 from Pyhtila for a larger water tank for the Dinsmore Plateau. A relative, Jean Pyhtila, is a member of the collective looking to open a marijuana dispensary in Rio Dell. Back to the story...RDPD Officer Bettencourt responded and was very helpful. Steve explained the ridiculous situation and that once he was told the cops had been called he just waited there for them to arrive; he then left the area as he was going to do in the first place. Interestingly enough, while he was waiting there for the police three large gravel trucks were coming and going up and down the road to the plateau. What is going on at the Dinsmore Plateau? Tuesday May 3rd will include a City Council meeting where an announcement of the new City Manager is expected. We will keep you posted. 4.27.10 There has been a lot of activity in the city lately with a real push towards annexation of Scotia. Take a look at the Annexation page to see the current events as well as all of the historical information going back to the first round of this in 2006. The financial analysis study as well as other studies are all posted for you to review. The city has stated an intention to use these old studies in their soon to be written annexation application so it is worth your time to review them. The financial analysis about the fire districts is particularly interesting. Tonight, there was a sparsely attended meeting at the Scotia Inn regarding the future of the former Eel River Sawmill site and the Brownfield project clean-up. There will be future meetings regarding this important issue that will hopefully draw at least some interest in the city since we have recently annexed that property. The city had applied for and received a $350,000 planning and assessment grant for the known toxic old sawmill site when the city had planned to put their wastewater treatment plant there. That is also when they changed the zoning on part of the property to Public Facilities, which the current property owner has said he didn't know about, which restricts usage to only a public purpose like a park, museum, treatment plant, etc. The owner wants to put a motocross track or some other type of private business there but can't do it. The meeting notes below go in to more detail about the motocross plan. In any case, the property is an identified Brownfield site and must be cleaned up before anything can be done with it. It was said that the owner should be able to apply for the same type of government grant money that the city had planned to use to clean up the site and hopefully that is true because the costs are going to be enormous. The zoning map and allowable uses handout is here. The planning commission meets tomorrow night at 6:30pm and will be addressing many important issues such as Scotia, Metropolitan, Blue Slide Rd. and the medical marijuana moratorium. Former Rio Dell Mayor Bud Leonard will be sworn in as a planning commissioner and he is an avid supporter of annexation and has advocated for it since day one. It is disappointing to see how little public participation there is from Rio Dell on this critical issue. Whether you are for annexation or against it, you need to participate in the process! 3.2.10 Tonight’s council meeting brought an overflow crowd of supporters for the Eel River Motocross Park business license application at the former Eel River Sawmill site owned by Dennis Wendt of Wendt Construction. Interim City Manager Jim Stretch explained the problem with the application is due to the zoning on that parcel which was changed to public purposes when the city was planning on building the wastewater treatment plant there. The only allowable purposes now on that property are public facilities like a school, park, museum, etc. which came as a surprise to Wendt. It was explained that the owner could apply to the city to have the zoning changed but there would be a number of fees and study costs involved in the lengthy process. Wendt stated his intent to go forward with the zoning change application in order to build the motocross park. After a recess, the council voted 5-0 to uphold the denial of the business license due to the zoning of the property.
1.6.10 Happy New Year! 12.29.09 The end of the decade is almost here! We are looking forward to 2010; recently Time Magazine ran an article about the decade from hell that is ending. Couldn't agree more! The country and the world will be feeling the repercussions from this disastrous decade for a long time to come. The health care debate is a good example of what is wrong in the U.S. government; there is no rational debate and attempt at a consensus which was the design of our political system. Instead, partisan hacks would rather see the country burn than find any compromise despite the harm to the general public. The current bill is a complete gift to the insurance and pharmaceutical industry; who have gotten exactly what they wanted and the public loses out yet again. The republican party is being controlled by the ultra-conservative "tea baggers" who are dictating far right wing policies and conspiracy theories. Moderates are being run out of their own party for daring to work with the other party to find compromises which is what the Founding Fathers envisioned as a balance to extremism on either side. The democrats aren't doing any better and have shown their willingness to sell out to corporate interests whenever they can; they are no longer the party looking out for the interests of the working class. The upcoming years should be interesting. In Rio Dell, we have been fortunate to have an Interim City Manager, Jim Stretch, who is willing to take on issues right away rather than accept the usual "we always do it this way" mentality that keeps the city from developing. The recent issue of the city Christmas party is a good example. Stretch received a flyer about the city employee party which was being held at the Riverlodge in Fortuna with a no-host bar and fully catered affair. The city had already paid a sizeable deposit for the location. Stretch asked about the funding of the party and discovered that the money came out of city funds and always has. The use of public tax money for a private employee party is not allowed unless the city certifies the event has some type of "public purpose" to justify its expense. The city is also providing alcohol to the attendee's at a party in another city at the public expense. The issue was immediately addressed and the two employee groups were very unhappy since this was the way they have always done their party and they felt no need to change. Stretch presented them with a choice; either the city declares the party a public purpose and does not allow any alcohol or the employee's contribute to their own party as most other local civic governments do. The issue was put onto the agenda for the 12.15.09 council meeting but the employee's agreed to fund their own party just prior to the meeting so there was no debate on the issue. The city is very strapped for cash these days and funding things like employee Christmas parties (not even held in Rio Dell) and paying for every city employee's water bill, just to name two examples, does not make people feel very good about the rate increases we have all experienced. The city has gone through a lot of crap this year with issues such as the former Public Works Director Jim Hale (discussed further below), the sudden departure of former City Manager Nancy Flemming, the arrest and conviction of local developer Jordan Pythila for money laundering and federal drug charges, etc. The proposed wastewater treatment plant will continue to be a big issue in the upcoming year. The council will be making some very important decisions regarding the direction of Rio Dell on issues such as the wastewater plant, which needs public involvement. Recently, the city approved the installation of the phrase "In God We Trust" to be placed above the city seal at the urging of council members Mike Dunker and Jack Thompson in response to a popular right wing campaign. During a meeting held with Stretch about the motto, it was discovered that Rio Dell doesn't actually have a city seal. We have a logo or two but no actual city seal. The long talked about project by Anthony Micheli to develop his 34 acres of property on either side of Blue Side Rd. just outside of Rio Dell (the property was recently annexed into Rio Dell at Micheli's request) may have come to an end. If you recall, the city bocci court was put in by Micheli and then city manager Jay Parrish with the intent to cater to his $400,000 homes in the exclusive development. The council and planning commission have held joint meetings concerning the project; including a field trip to the property to discuss Micheli's plans. For whatever reason, the plans continued to drag on until the housing market crashed and development of the whole project became unreasonable. Micheli recently applied to the city to have the property split off in such a way that he could build his own home on one of the river side lots and not develop the rest of the property until the market improves in the future. The planning commission had recently denied his application and the matter came up before the city council to either uphold or overturn their denial. The video of the discussion (in part I and the beginning of part II) has an interesting debate over who would be responsible for maintaining or opening that section of Blue Slide Rd (which earned its name with many landslides). The city planner, George Williamson of Planwest, contends that when the city annexed the property (at Micheli's request) the responsibility for that section of road went from the county to property owner. He stated that since Micheli owned both sides of the road, he was responsible for it. Micheli obviously argued that the responsibility would have gone from the county to the city in the annexation. The council eventually decided to uphold the denial and Micheli stated he would not be coming back with an alternate plan as the city had mentioned. The city of Rio Dell appears to have issues with developments and/or developers; just take a look at the May St. debacle with Myers Construction or the Dinsmore Plateau project with convicted money launderer Pythila. Pythila used his development projects to launder his drug money which is a much more common practice than you might think. There is a lot of money to go around it seems. Have a safe New Year's Eve! 11.17.09 Tonight's city council meeting was the first one under the direction of the new Interim City Manager Jim Stretch. His primary focus will be to help recruit and hire a permanent city manager to fill the position that has been vacant since the sudden departure of Nancy Flemming months ago. Up to this point the city has not been looking for a replacement city manager as far as anyone can tell; relying on Police Chief Graham Hill to fill both positions. Stretch is just beginning to get up to speed but already has some interesting ideas on areas of improvement, etc. The city held a Public Hearing on a zoning ordinance amendment regarding the maintenance and repair of sidewalks in Rio Dell. The city has received two claims fairly recently stemming from injuries received from falls on the sidewalks around town; one claim alone was for $3,000 in medical bills and eye glasses (the city deductible is $2,500 on their insurance). Section 6.18.5(J) of the local zoning ordinance says the homeowner of the adjacent property is responsible for sidewalk maintenance. This language is being changed in the proposed ordinance amendment to provide better legal protection for the city. The new ordinance says "maintenance and repair of sidewalk area shall include, but not be limited to, maintenance and repair of surfaces including grinding, removal and replacement of sidewalks, repair and maintenance of curb and gutters, removal and filling or replacement of parking strips, removal of weeds and/or debris, supervision and maintenance of signs, tree root purning and installing root barriers, trimming of shrubs and/or ground cover and trimming shurbs within the area between the property line of the adjacent property and the street pavement line..." Have you seen the current condition of the Rio Dell sidewalks? They are unbelievably bad in numerous areas while nonexistent in others, they are not ADA compliant in the majority of the area (including relatively newer sections like the corner of Ireland and Davis St.), some developers were even allowed to build new homes without putting in any sidewalks at all (makes you wonder how they passed the inspection now doesn't it). One of the problems with public hearings on important issues such as this one is the complete lack of access to information for the population. The agenda item provided the only notice that any zoning amendment changes were being considered but unless you had the time to go into city hall during open business hours then you had no information on what changes were being proposed. The city website has some of the city council packets online which provide the most complete information on agenda items but they haven't updated the site since mid-September. What good is a public hearing if the public has no idea what is being considered? The video will be coming as soon as Steve spends a great deal of time and effort trying to improve the sound as far as possible; bumping up the sound 12 decibles and running it through clarity filters. Numerous people, including myself, have told the council over the years that it was difficult to hear them; even while seated in the chamber. The microphones and sound system are often not used and pushed out of the way but even when the council members speak into them, there is no significant difference in volume. During public comments, a local resident asked if the microphones were really on (they were but they didn't make any difference). Stretch also addressed the poor sound quality in the chamber when he watches our videos on Access Humboldt. He said that he would be looking into any possible improvements that could be made to help with the acustics (Yeah!). The council will schedule a study session at a future date regarding the recent resolution approving adding "In God We Trust" above the city seal; the city needs to figure out what to do now that they approved the resolution. Both Council Members Jack Thompson and Mike Dunker offered to help pay for the addition of the motto during the last meeting (the video is available here). Perhaps the council should have thought about the details of implementing their resolution prior to approving it? Finally, the city council approved the 2009 holiday schedule for the city. City Hall will be closed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. The Annual Tree Lighting will be December 3rd at 6pm. The city is holding a Christmas dinner at the River Lodge in Fortuna December 23rd (details to follow). City Hall will be closed Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th of December for Christmas and again on December 31st and January 1st for New Years (employee negotiations pending for New Year's Eve as a paid holiday). 9.1.09 An update to the 7.9.09 referrence below to some anonymous source on the Times Standard page...Chief Hill informs me that the public works employee referrenced in the post was not fired by Public Works. We appreciate the clarification as the information about personnel matters is not publicly known. We would like to reiterate that the comment came from an anonymous source with a great deal more information about personnel matters and City Hall than what is publicly available but take it with a grain of salt and ask City Hall yourself. There are numerous people that have lived in Rio Dell for a long time and are very familiar with the interconnections. By special request, here is the link to the Rio Dell Building Department Fraud page and the Croynism in Rio Dell page for your easy access. Happy Reading! 8.9.09 I didn't realize it had been so long since we had updated this page, sorry! As usual, it is very busy around here. There is lots of stuff going on around us locally and nationally to pay attention to. The hottest topic going on right now in Rio Dell is the wastewater rate increase. There is currently a petition drive going on by multiple people opposed to the increase but it is unknown if they are anywhere close to the 50% plus one minimum number of valid signatures that are needed. The last city council meeting had a very good discussion of the rates and some of the concerns of the citizens. A number of those in attendance were going to visit the wastewater treatment plant last Friday for a tour and discussion of the issues. Anyone interested in seeing the current state of the plant can contact Public Works and arrange for a tour. The problem with the rate increase isn't really a debate about the need for extensive repairs to the system; everyone seems to agree that the current state of the plant is bad. The problem comes from a lack of trust in the city to utilize the additional money any more wisely than they have in the past. Randy Jensen appears to be doing the best he can with a very bad situation as far as we know but there are decades of shady business and questionable use of city funds that have created the apprehension felt by many. Finding out that every city employee receives free water and sewer in Rio Dell (up to the base allowance reportedly) doesn't really make anyone feel better about paying higher rates. The brazeness of running an unmetered water line to the personal property of the former Public Works Director is making more sense. Why not run the line? They're already getting free water anyway! The recently approved interim budget is available (kind of) at the city website. You have to look at the council packet for the 8/4/09 meeting and then scroll all the way down the page to view the budget (take a look at the check register on your way down). The recent developer of the Dinsmore Plateau project is going to be sentenced soon in a federal court located in San Francisco. The press release by the Department of Justice stated that Pythila and his "coconspirator" Jessie Jeffries had to forfeit the $945,000 promissory note that they received as payment for the Dinsmore property. We don't know who currently owns the Dinsmore property. Pythila and Jeffries pled guilty to maintaining a place to manufacture marijuana and conspiracy to launder money. 467 kilos of marijuana were grown on their property by their own confession. Pythila is likely to face 72 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Some of this laundered money was used to increase the size of the water tank on Dinsmore in order to accomodate the development that was being proposed. Local residents we have heard from have said that it came as no surprise to anyone who was familiar with Pythila. In this small community, what did the city know or suspect when they accepted that money? State politics are dismal with the governor and the legislature recently approving a budget that virtually eliminates the basic social safety net during a time of an economic disaster. People are losing their jobs right and left along with any health care that they might have had. 2 million more people are signed up for food stamps than last year and the state recently shut down the Healthy Families insurance program for children. The federal government is trying to work on health insurance reform but they are facing incredible tactics by the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies and right wing Republicans backing the profit margins of corporations above the Americans suffering and dying without adequate health insurance. The talking heads are spouting the most insane lies (i.e. "Obama Death Review Panels") but the crazier the lie, the more their constituents eat it up. They are fueling the most extreme members of society who already believe that since the President is black, he must have been born in Africa and there is an enormous conspiracy going on that started 44 years ago. Whoa! The most fiscally and morally responsible plan is to develop the single-payer government option, similar to the VA or Medicare. Take a look at the insurance policy your federal legislators enjoy. Allowing Americans to suffer and die to increase the profit margin for the corporations that have already brought down the United States economy with their greed is reprehensible and truly sick. 7.10.09 The story behind the resignation still isn't known publicly but information doesn't stay quiet for very long in a small community. A closed door session of the city council was announced for Tuesday July 14th at 5:00pm to appoint an interim city manager and consult with legal counsel about the now three potential cases that Rio Dell is "significantly exposed" to. The announcement lists the government code section 54956.9(b) as the legal basis for their closed door meeting. That code simply says that a council can hold a closed door meeting to confer with their counsel whenever the attorney determines the city might get sued. You can read the whole thing yourself at Find California Code. The city is considered exposed to litigation for its own actions as well as those of its employees (acting within the scope of their employment). We don't know for sure what the three potential lawsuits involve but we do know that the council doesn't have the money to keep ignoring the law and then paying to defend their actions or the actions of city employees. The citizens of Rio Dell have already paid enough for the croynism and shady dealings that have been business as usual here in the past. It is long past time for the majority of Rio Dell citizens, who are hard working decent people, to stand up and insist their local government follow the same laws that apply everywhere else. 7.9.09 Nancy Flemming turns in her resignation-effective immediately! What an interesting turn of events; particularly after not reporting out any actions at all for the last six months worth of "performance evaluations." I don't know what goes on behind the closed doors but there has been tension readily apparent at the council meetings from Jack Thompson towards Flemming as well as fellow council member Mike Dunker. Could this be the micromanaging council member that Dunker was referring to in his quote to the Times Standard? Only the council members know for sure. We have heard a few things from various people about the disfunction in city hall, such as; Flemming wasn't able to do the day-to-day work of managing a city so she hired a number of consultants to do the work and on the flip-side we've heard that she came into a corrupt cronie system that fought against any changes from an outsider. The truth might be somewhere in-between, I am not sure. What we do know is that Rio Dell has let corruption and cronyism run rampant for decades; from the days of prohibition and the mob that we have heard about from old-timers to former mayor Ghirladucci (of Humboldt Creamery fraud fame) to the current batch of good ol' boys that run the city like their own personal kingdom. There was a fascinating post by an anonymous source on the Times Standard website that is obviously from someone with more info as to the inter-connections here (we have no idea where they have gotten their information from or whether it is accurate); "Yes Stephanie is married to policeman John Beauchaine and Graham Hill hired his brother in law Kevin Harrelsen after he was fired from public works and ex Mayor Ernie Canaday got his recently fired son in law Jim Hale his job and Mike Dunkers son works for the city public works and it goes on and on. And the good ole boy network goes on. There is a developer who built about 8 houses all in one area and they all look alike and were built without putting in paved roads and underground utilities and got by without being classified as a subdivision. How do these things happen. Building inspector apparently is another good ole boy. And dont forget the council hiring Jay Parrish illegally and all of the legal services involved in defending what they knew was wrong. No wonder the water bills have to be so high to pay for everyones lawsuits." I thought it was hysterical that one of the cronies actually posted their belief that we wrote that. That is written by someone who obviously has been around here much longer than us and has very close and personal knowledge of the nepotism. Thank you to whomever posted the information. I have heard most of this but not all of the names, thanks again. We will have to see what happens now. We just received the accounting reports that we had requested and will post them as soon as possible. 6.18.09 School is out for the summer! It is hard to believe the year is half over already but here we are. There is a lot of worry going on concerning the various economic crisis'; California, federal and personal. The state is almost bankrupt and proposing to cut the basic safety net of our society at the very time that it is needed most by increasing numbers of people. It is short sighted and will cost a great deal more in the long run; for example, eliminating public defenders. We are still required by the Constitution to provide a defense and would have to hire more expensive private attorneys. This has already been tried in the past in other counties around the state and they found it cost significantly more money. Eliminating Healthy Families coverage will prevent scores of children from getting any preventative care and will wind up in the more expensive emergency room. There is a balance that needs to be found between increasing revenue and decreasing expenses. The deficit is simply too large to address completely by cuts. The opposition to any sort of new revenue based on ideology is dooming the state to a much larger crisis. We have become held hostage by a minority of legislators that would rather stick to their ideology than find a compromise for the common good based on the facts. Politics used to be about negotiation and compromise, that is the basis of the two party political system. The Founding Fathers believed that the compromises that would be required would provide a balance between strong opposition parties. They were absolutely right but we have lost that ability along the way. The supermajority that is required to pass the budget allows a minority of hard line ideologues to hold the state hostage as they recently did in the last budget negotiations. The city doesn't know how much money is really at risk because accurate information from Sacramento is impossible, it is changing daily. Already, the city will not be able to repair and renovate Fireman's Park because of the loss of state money. The city has put in an application already for 2.3 million dollars in stimulus money to go towards the wastewater treatment plant, it is unknown if the city will eventually qualify. The state may take additional money from the local governments but that is still up in the air. The Safe Routes to School grant is still going forward and work is supposed to begin this summer at the schools on Center St. There will be significant changes to the frontage of the school, sidewalks on most of Center St. and speed bumps. There will be some restrictions on parking but the city didn't describe what that meant. There will be bike trails provided from Davis St. as well. The school board has been working with the city to plan the changes and it should provide better safety for the kids. The city has told us that they will give us a copy of the audit reports that we requested in our Freedom of Information request but not the information about any investigations. We haven’t heard back from them yet about how much the copies are going to cost but as soon as we get them, we will post them here. The citizens of Rio Dell paid for the audit reports and it is reasonable to think that they might like to see it. The constant closed door actions regarding the City Manager and the Director of Public Works without any reportable actions in all this time is interesting. Wonder what’s going on behind closed doors? When does a subdivision, or any development for that matter, not need a written building permit application? When it’s in Rio Dell by the looks of it. The building inspector for Rio Dell, Arnie Kemp of Kemp Inspection Service, was recently under oath testifying in a hearing to renew an existing restraining order we have against him (it was denied). The following was the testimony provided under oath:
Kemp: Yes, but I don’t know what they are, and most of the inspections I’ve been doin’ by your house, there is no written records. They are for subdivisions. Wolff: There’s no written records of the building permits? Kemp: No Wolff: Okay. Building—just a note, building permits are required to be in writing.
5.23.09 We hope everyone is having a good Memorial Day weekend. It has been particularly busy recently as we go into the end of the school year. There has been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes at City Hall that is palpable to the rest of the city but little information is publically available. For whatever reason, Public Works Director Jim Hale has reportedly been on paid administrative leave for many months now. Randy Jensen has been filling in and is doing a good job from what we hear. There have been no actions taken by the City Council as far as what is publically reported at the meetings. There are rumors of an investigation but that hasn't been confirmed despite its likely being funded with our tax money. The other issue going on is the eternal employee evaluation of City Manager Nancy Flemming. This has become a standing agenda item with no action taken for months now. We have heard that the two things are interconnected but again, there is no information coming out of City Hall regarding this. The recent council agenda listed a closed door item of consultation with legal counsel regarding the cities "significant exposure" to two pending lawsuits. The item lists government code 54956(b) for both cases; which is related to special meetings and the 24-hour noticing requirement. Subsection 54956.5(b) (which is what I assume they meant since there is no 54956(b)) says that the special meeting is considered an "emergency situation" involving "matters upon which prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened disruption of public facilities, a legislative body may hold an emergency meeting without complying with either the 24-hour notice requirement or the 24-hour posting requirement." This sounds pretty significant and the public should know more about this "threatened disruption of public facilities." This may be related to the above mentioned public works investigation but I don't know for sure. Take a look at the council meeting video from April 21st and pay particular attention to the discussion (at two separate times on the tape) about a previously undisclosed project of photographing city documents that are old and deteriorating. Council Member Jack Thompson and former Council Member and City Manager John Lane were in City Hall on a Saturday copying these documents for the records. The other council members were unaware of their project and members of the public were concerned when they saw people in City Hall on a Saturday. Council Member Mike Dunker makes a very good point about the ethics requirement of disclosure for this kind of a project. Considering past experiences with the city and missing documents, I think there is a valid reason to be suspicious of any "project" involving city documents. The city has two pending lawsuits and a reported investigation going on so it may not be the best time to be secretly messing around with the documents. A scanning project of old documents is a worthwhile endeavor that could be done during the open work day hours. Another area of concern is the hiring of the wife of the building inspector by city hall and their access to city documents. We have posted plenty of information in the past demonstrating the illegal electrical permit that Arnie Kemp signed, the Structural Engineers report about the clear health and safety violations with our home that were ignored by Kemp and the city and the Grand Jury report. The city choses to continue using Kemp and taking on the liability for the rest of the Rio Dell taxpayers but now his wife is working within city hall; under the "finance department." City Hall is way too small to realistically think that there are separate departments and they don't all have some access to all of the files. There is reason to be concerned; considering past actions particularly. During the lawsuit over the illegal hiring of the mayor as city manager; documents and tapes disappeared or never existed. The deposition of City Clerk Karen Dunham best refers to the missing job application or resume of Jay Parrish among other things. Again, in consideration of the lawsuits and investigations there is a valid reason to be concerned about what is going on in city hall. We have heard from others and they are equally concerned for their own reasons. 4.25.09 It's hard to believe that April is almost over already. We have been getting summer like weather intermixed with high winds and freezing temperatures. Hopefully, May showers will come and fill up the reservoirs with much needed water. School will be coming to an end soon and we are looking forward to our youngest son graduating from Stanwood A. Murphy 8th grade in Scotia. The school always does a very nice ceremony in the historic Winema Theatre and party at the Scotia Inn. There is a special election coming up on Tuesday May 19th regarding multiple budget propositions. The Sacramento Bee has a good write-up of the ballot issues and you should have gotten your voters pamphlet in the mail by now. There will only be one precinct in Rio Dell for this election; Monument Middle School is the polling place as in years past. A low turn-out is expected but these are budget items that will affect every taxpayer one way or another for years to come. Please take the time to educate yourself about the issues and vote! You can't complain about the government if you aren't willing to do your part and vote. We have a link on the front page to an article written by former Sergeant Kayla Williams who served as an interrogator for military intelligence in Iraq and participated in the torturing of detainee's. It is vital that people take the time to read about the situation from those that were there rather than the talking heads who are doing their best to manipulate the public for their own partisan self-interest. We owe at least that much to the soldiers fighting this created war in Iraq. They get to pay the price for the actions of their superiors right up the chain to the President of the United States aka Commander in Chief. If America is going to remain a nation of laws as created by our Constitution then we need to follow the evidence where ever it may lead. We can only hope that President Obama, a former Constitutional law professor, will allow the investigation to go forward no matter where it goes. No one is above the law (in theory). That is true nationally as well as locally. A family home located at 1030 Riverside Dr. burned down on April 13th. The family is safe but they have lost pretty much everything. The cause of the first fire was an unattended pan on the stove. View the video and pictures here. Later that night, a second fire began and finished off what hadn't burned the first time. We have pictures that show the damage after the first fire and then after the second fire; we will post more soon. Since my last post regarding city hall the council has continued to have the closed door session agenda items: "2009/0421.16 To consider appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline/dismissal/release of public employee (Government code 54957)" and "2009/0421.17 Public employee performance evaluation - City Manager (Government Code Section 54957)." There have been no reported actions taken regarding any personnel matter that we are aware of. Be sure and take the time to read the minutes that are finally being posted at the city website. If you continue to scroll down the very lengthy document then you will get to the minutes for prior meetings that are being approved by the council. The sewer rates are going to be doubling with the new wastewater project. Rates are estimated to go from $48 to $96; according to the city's own statements. Total costs for the project are anticipated to be $16.7 million by current projections. The city is looking for any grant funding or stimulus money for the project but that is an unknown at this time. It was also noted at a recent update to the council that one of the formal objections to the annexation of Metropolitan currently before LAFCo was filed by the property owner of the land we are hoping to use to irrigate the treated wastewater on, Mr. Mazetti. The city states that the discussions with the property owner have been "positive" but the filing of an opposition doesn't appear to be very positive. 4.8.09 There was a closed door session of the council held last night prior to the public meeting. The topic listed on the agenda was 2009/0407.01 To consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline, of a public employee (Government Code Section 54957). In addition to the councilmembers and the city attorney David Martinek, there were a number of "suits" present that looked like they could have been attorneys or accountants. There was no reportable action taken at this meeting or at least none that was disclosed as the law requires. After the conclusion of the meeting, I had a chance to ask City Manager Nancy Flemming about the fact that the minutes posted online don't mention any reported actions taken by the council in closed door sessions as required regarding the Public Works Director who has been absent for a number of months. Flemming stated that there have not been any reportable actions to date. The law requires public disclosure of personnel actions taken in a closed door session "to appoint, employ, dismiss, accept the resignation of, or otherwise affect the employment status of a public employee in closed session...shall be reported at the public meeting during which the closed session is held" (Gov. Code 54957.1(a)(5)). *it should be noted that the failure to publicly disclose actions taken in closed door sessions was a part of what got the city into trouble with the illegal appointment of Jay Parrish as city manager. Last nights City Council meeting was well attended with some there specifically for the special presentations of citizens awards from the Police Chief and Mayor. The awards were given to two men who came to the assistance of Officer Bettencourt when she was assaulted by a mentally ill person; Brett Barsanti and Seth Sturdevant. Four young boys also received awards for actions taken that led to the arrest of an unregistered sex offender who accosted them at the river bar in 2006; Daylyn Mela, Chase Alameda, Bruce Gendreau and Brandon Gendreau. There was also a proclaimation given to local veteran Kyle Chittenden who served honorably in Iraq and is now back home. The scheduled update to the infrastructure projects by Winzler & Kelly didn't occur as they were unable to make it to the meeting apparently. The public hearings regarding the proposed ethics policy and also the appointment of a building official did not elicit a single public comment. Council member Mike Dunker made a reference to an old ethics policy for Rio Dell but that "nobody could find it." We really appreciate the information that we are given in confidence. While we can't post information that isn't corroborated in some way, the information often gives us a direction to pursue. We continue to hear the same information by different people; it is pretty safe to say that a lot of people know at least some of what is going on around here. If a person has information they want to share, please contact us or an appropriate agency such as the District Attorney or the FBI Dept. of Public Corruption. Even small town cronies can be brought to justice, although it can take a long time. Don't forget the inspriational story of the investigation and prosecution of a local building inspector in Brookhaven New York (read more here). On another semi-related topic, the Ferndale Enterprise has been putting their articles about Humboldt Creamery online for the public to read. Former Rio Dell Mayor Rich Ghirladucci is suspected of manipulating the books during his tenure as CEO; although they are still piecing together the puzzle. 4.7.09 A big Thank You to the reader who recently sent us some tips regarding an investigation that appears to be going on concerning the Public Works Department and the City Manager's office (possibly others as well). We receive many tips and information but remain careful about posting information that is not supported by some evidence. The minutes posted by the City from meetings held in January corroborate the info provided to us. Take a look at the cities website and the posted City Council agendas; the documentation includes the minutes from prior meetings that are being approved under the Consent Calendar. Take a look at the posting for 2-17-09 Agenda, the minutes attached (keep scrolling down) from a couple of special meetings are fascinating. The auditors that the city has used seem to have identified areas that need further investigation; these areas coincide with information floated around City Hall and Rio Dell for awhile now. On 1-25-09, I wrote about the recent suspension of Jim Hale from the Public Works Dept. that stemmed from a confrontation at the local Shell station (see below); that would appear to be the "tip of the iceberg." In the minutes from the 1.20.09 Special Meeting, "Mayor Woodall stated that during a conference call with Justin Williams from Mann, Urrutia & Nelson, CPA's (the City auditor) it was suggested that the City Council consider engaging their services to conduct a 'special audit' for the purpose of investigating certain findings from the annual audit." There was also discussion of internal complaints regarding misconduct that needed to be investigated; this resulted in the city adopting the recent whistleblower policy. "Councilmember Dunker then asked if the focus of the 'special audit' was to change the behavior of the public works department as a whole or target against a particular employee." The minutes of the 1.29.09 Special Meeting include a comment from councilmember Jack Thompson that sharply criticized the City Manager and the "refusal of the City Manager to exercise her powers and duty (responsibility) granted her" and "the City Council has known of some of the stated charges for over two years yet did not take appropriate action under the responsibility to the citizens of Rio Dell by ordering the City Manager to investigate the rumors and report back to the council." These are some very serious allegations against Nancy Flemming and the City Council members. It should be noted that, if true, the alleged misconduct didn't begin with Flemming's tenure but would have been going on for a long time now; under the "leadership" of former city manage/mayor Jay Parrish, acting city manager Graham Hill, former mayor Bud Leonard and prior city manager Eli Naffah (this also includes the timeframe that Jack Thompson was on the City Council previously). I noticed that there was never a public report of any personnel action taken against Hale in any of the minutes, as required by government code 54957.1(a)(5). Personnel matters are to be discussed in closed session to allow for the privacy of employees but any action taken is required to be reported immediately. The City of Rio Dell is planning on implementing an Ethics Policy that is long overdue. The terms "ethics" and "Rio Dell" are rarely used together and the city has a long standing reputation of being anything but ethical. The establishment of an ethics policy is an important first step in trying to get past the long history of cronyism and nepotism that has controlled the city up until now. However, the policy is only words on a piece of paper unless it is enforced and valued by both City Hall and the citizens that are ultimately responsible for holding the elected officials accountable. If the city continues to ignore the complaints of citizens and employees along with the evidence handed to them on a silver platter then the same misconduct alleged will continue and more. 3.22.09 The conflict between council members that has been evident in the budget study sessions and other recent meetings is a demonstration of the different beliefs towards the future of Rio Dell and its budget priorities. There is a difference of opinion regarding the value of creating political and personal connections with cities and legislators outside of the immediate area. Council member Thompson doesn't appear to see any value in the League of Cities where small communities come together as a group to have a louder voice in politics. The issues of the small towns are often overlooked as the larger population centers receive the majority of the funding. The council has been skeptical of the League and have questioned council member Dunker in the past about the meetings. However, now that Dunker has stuck it out for six years he has risen to the level of President of the Redwood Empire Division and is finally in a position to bring greater recognition to Rio Dell and form the political connections that may help our small town. Thompson has talked about not going to these meetings where legislators can be addressed face to face and instead just make a few phone calls. The isolationist approach neglects to recognize the importance of personal contact where politics is concerned. Is that legislator going to be more sympathetic to the council member standing in front of them pleading their case or the council member holding on line #1? That being said, the council needs to come to some sort of compromise that will allow them to prioritize the meetings with consideration of the budget. There are limited dollars to cover expenses so priorities must be set and we hope that the value of successful networking is not overlooked. There are a lot of funding options opening up to small communities in the Recovery & Reinvestment Act that cities across the state will be fighting for. We need every advantage that we can get in order to secure opportunities for our community and putting a personal connection between the legislators and the town gives us that possible edge. It might not be completely fair, but that is how the politics game is played. The council members need to work together in a more constructive manner with mutual respect for each other. Dunker has already expressed a willingness to work with the other council members and prioritize which meetings are the most important for him to be present at. The council needs to recognize the value of the position that Dunker is in now with the League of Cities and then work to maximize the possible benefits to the community rather than turn their backs on the rest of the state. 3.19.09 Steven L. Wolff: Busy busy busy! I just wanted to stick up for our local council member Mike Dunker. Some of the city council here in Rio Dell, California seems to take his representation of us as the President of the Redwood Empire Division of the League of California Cities for granted. For shame! Isolationism is bad! Get rid of the isolationists and maybe we won’t have a population where 65% of us are low-income. Rio Dell needs representation now more than ever if we want to have any hope of bringing grant money into the area. Mike Dunker is the only one who stood up for the law in the recent game of nepotism involving Jay Parrish. We want him standing up for us as a city, and for the law of California and the United States of America! 1.25.09 The agenda for the 1.6.09 Council meeting included "2009/0106.17 Employment Status-Public Works Director" under the closed session items. Personnel matters such as employment status are not discussed in open session so there was no information as to what this was concerning. We have since received information about an altercation at the Rio Dell Shell Station between the Public Works Director, Jim Hale and a long-time Rio Dell resident which resulted in a 30 day suspension for Hale. Reportedly, Hale threw the first punch at the 62 year old resident and his wife joined in the melee'. The fight was allegedly recorded on the security video at the gas station which is now in the custody of the Rio Dell Police Department. The resident was told by the police that the video does not show who threw the first punch but they have so far been unable to view the tape themselves. The antagonizm has been building between Hale and the resident after the conclusion of the recent infratstructure work to the water lines and installation of new water meters throughout the city. The resident worked for the contractor installing these lines and meters. Reports started coming out that one of the two water lines run to the Hale residence was left unmetered (we have heard this claim from multiple people that worked on the project). There was allegedly a metered line run to the house and a second line running to an auxillary building without the meter. This was described by Hale to the crew members as a "test line" to check the water quality. The plans for the major infrastructure work should show all of the lines that were installed along with the new meters and the existence of an unmetered testing line at the Hale property should be disclosed in these plans. The city could put to rest any allegations about this water line by showing the plans which would include information about the need for a "testing line" on private property. The 1.6.09 Council meeting included a public hearing regarding the proposed Business License Ordinance (Ordinance no. 259-2009). The ordinance was not readily available for the public to review prior to the meeting. It is impossible to hold a public hearing of any value if the public doesn't have access to the proposed ordinance. I asked the city if the proposed ordinance was currently available at the city website so that people could read it. City Manager Nancy Flemming stated that it should have been posted already and asked City Clerk Karen Dunham to confirm if she had posted it. Dunham stated that she had been unable to post the ordinance due to her computer being updated. The updates must be very extensive as the ordinance is still not posted to the website as of the 25th. While looking for the ordinance at the city website, I noticed that there was very little current information posted. The page for City Council Agendas & Minutes hasn't been updated since the 12.2.08 agenda was posted on 12.17.08 (the majority of agendas appear to have been posted well after the meeting so they are of very little use). December 9th was a busy day for updates as the agendas for meetings held in Oct., Sept., Aug., and July were posted. The Planning Commission hasn't had an agenda posted since Feb. of 2007. The website appears to have no mention of the recent General Plan updates or the proposed zoning map changes. The most recent posting that I can find anywhere on the site is a job opening for Utility Worker I (posted 1/23/09). It should be noted that posting documents and updates to an existing website is very easy and typically is done by the support staff. 1.2.09 Happy New Year to All from The Wolff Family! It is hard to believe that another year has passed by so quickly. Hope everyone had as nice a holiday as we did. There are a number of changes coming in the new year that affect everyone in Rio Dell and Scotia. The talks to annex Scotia to Rio Dell have begun again now that the bankruptcy is concluded. Now is the time to express your opinon to City Hall. The biggest question will be who gets to pay for the infrastructure improvements that are desperately needed. We have a change in the structure at City Hall as well. Julie Woodall takes over as Mayor from Bud Leonard who was voted out in the recent elections. His seat is being taken by Jack Thompson, who has been the head of the Planning Commission. Melissa Marks will serve as Mayor Pro Tem. Is the all women leadership at City Hall finally going to end the good ol' boys network that has prevailed here for so long? The recreation center in Scotia is having a very difficult time right now and the community may lose a valuable asset if a solution can not be found. The recent change in ownership of the former Palco rec center to the school has triggered new legislation that means the gym would have to comply with modern regulations at a significant cost. There is also new legislation about the pool drain system that went into effect at the same time. The effect has been to close the facility to both the school and Body Works customers. This is the start of the basketball season and the swim team was about to begin practice. There was a recent meeting held at the school by Principal Janelle Lamp and attended by 2nd District Supervisor Clif Clendenen, Rio Dell City Manager Nancy Flemming, Rio Dell City Council Members Mike Dunker and Marc Barsanti and a number of community members and school parents. There was discussion of a number of options for both the short term and the long term viability of the center. Flemming and Clendenen are both going to explore public options for the center including some type of partnership. The long term goal of the group is the formation of a community center that would be open and available to all of the community. This would be a huge benefit to everyone here and we all need to find ways to help make this happen. We will post future updates on the situation and meeting times as they become available. Contact Janelle Lamp at the school for additional information or to offer your assistance. The city is continuing to work towards a new sewage treatment center at the Eel River Sawmill site in the annexed area of Metropolitan. The time for your comment is now. There will be significant costs for the residents in addition to the anticipated benefits. This is another issue that the local community, as well as the surrounding communities, need to be paying attention. Has anyone else had trouble with their new water meter? We recently had a public works employee come out to check the meter that was recently replaced by digital. We asked if there was a problem and were told that some of the new meters might be broken from the wet weather. At the same time our community is going through many changes, the country is having its own significant problems. Things are likely to get worse before they get better. We have a lot of damage to repair and it is asking a lot from any new administration. I think that the Justice Department needs to be looking into some type of action against members of the current administration for their acts against the Country. It is possible that other countries will try to bring a suit in the World Court for crimes against humanity. We need to re-establish the rule of law in America which applies to everyone, even Presidents. Our Consitution has taken a lot of damage over the last 8 years and I am relieved that a Constitutional law professor will be in charge. Steve and I are currently studying the law as we finish our college degrees and it is appalling to us that we have gotten so far away from what made us a great Country to begin with. The best story on the Bush administration can be read at Vanity Fair. It is in chronological order and is entirely made up of direct quotes from those that worked in the White House at the time. This is a must-read for every person. I think we are only at the tip of the iceberg as far as finding out what has been done behind the scenes and the disatrous consequences. May we all have a great 2009, both personally and as a country. |