TUOLUMNE PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017, SPECIAL MEETING 6:00 P.M.
18603 PINE STREET, TUOLUMNE, CA 95379 209-928-1214
The Board of Directors of the Tuolumne Park and Recreation District met in special session on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Directors Donnie Wright, Steve Artzer, Jake Feriani, and Michelle Hightower were present. Also present were employees Cindy Wano, James Wood. Board Member David Keller was absent
Open Special Meeting: Wright opened the meeting at 6:00pm
- Pledge of Allegiance:Led by Hightower
- Opportunity for members of the public to address the Board on any item under the subject matter jurisdiction of the District, that is not on the agenda:
Male: I’d like to ask a question. I’m John LaTorre. During the discussion that’s on the agenda – will the public be invited to speak then?
Wright: Yes, depending on how many people we have, we will be able to maybe put a time limit on it – let everybody speak at that point.
John LaTorre: Thank you.
Wright: Anybody else? Okay, so we go to Discussion Items.
- DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS
3.1 CSD Letter: This is the CSD letter that was composed . . .
Hightower: Don’t we have to approve the Agenda?
Wright: Oh, yeah, that’s true. Can’t approve the Agenda if it’s not on there. (laughter)
Wano: I thought it was on there.
Wright: It’s not.
Wano: OMG.
Wright: It’s on the old one, not the new one. No, it’s not on either one.
NOTED: Not on Agenda:
Approval of the Minutes:
Wright: So do I have a motion to approve the Agenda?
Feriani: I’ve got a couple of things – Darren on the next page, it says Darren, not Jake.
Wright: Oh, yeah, with the address and stuff. We’ve got to get that changed.
(multiple voices inaudible)
Feriani: Part of my Brown Act training was if the District had a website it could be posted and I didn’t see it on there.
Wano: Tony has a new spot where he puts it – down underneath all the things that say “Easter Rabbits” and all that stuff.
Feriani: So it’s all the Board meeting minutes?
Wano: The minutes are in there. The agendas are on the front page down underneath the advertising.
Wright: It’s down on the bottom there.
Feriani: That one and as well the Discussion and Action Items, I think we need to give a little more description when somebody from the public CSD letter or library they aren’t going to necessarily know what it means. The Brown Act says 20 words or less.
Wright: We could expand that.
Feriani: That’s it.
Wright: Okay. So with those changes – we’re not going to change 3.1 at this point – with the change of the address and the name being incorrect, do I have a Motion to approve the Minutes or the Agenda?
Feriani: I’ll make a Motion to approve as is with the amendment.
Wright: Second?
Artzer: I’ll second.
Wright: Steve. All in favor? Any opposed? Approved 4-0. Sorry, make a note there. Okay.
Wright: So 3.1 CSD Letter. This is something that we talked about forming as far as coming to trying to come with an understanding because there’s been a lot of confusion of where we’re at and what’s going on. Comprising a letter talking to some people, James mainly, of how we would stand as a Board on a CSD and our reasons for it at this point. So, I’ll go ahead and read the letter (**copy attached for reference**) and then I’ll open it up to the public again for 5 minutes for people to talk. That way it’s not taking an hour to get through this.
Wright: That’s the length of the letter to this point. So like I said, I’ll go ahead and open it up. Try to keep your conversations to about 5 minutes and then we’ll go from there.
Kenny Mitchell: Clarification Donnie. Now is this letter – is the Board in agreement with this?
Wright: That’s what we’re voting on tonight.
Kenny Mitchell: So this is being presented to the Board.
Wright: Yes. This is where – if the public wants to comment, this is the time and place.
Kenny Mitchell: Can I ask another question? Why is this a Special Meeting versus just the regular?
Wright: Well we were going to provide this last meeting under the CSD – what was in here - unfortunately I had to leave on an emergency so we decided it would be better to wait and then try to just do it in a Special Meeting after people had time to reorganize and make sure it was complete.
Kenny Mitchell: How was this letter written? Was there just one person or who did the research on that?
Wright: James did a lot of the research with Tony and myself adding some direction.
John LaTorre: Are you all in agreement as far as what to do in regards to a CSD?
Male: That’s what this letter is about. I mean you’ve obviously had discussions about that?
Wright: The Board has been a part of this discussion and meetings for a few years now. And so we know we have a couple of the new Board members here, one that couldn’t be here. I have letters from him with his feelings being knowing what he wants. He’s not voting, but I could read those to you as well. But we could go around and share with you if everybody’s in agreement at this point. But we wanted public input before we voted.
Kenny Mitchell: I’d love to hear what all the Board members have to say about the letter. Will the public be able to speak again after the Board members have spoken?
Wright: Well, at the point it’s going to be – basically the reason why we’re going to do this ahead of time is so you guys have an opportunity to say something so that way no one’s going to change their vote. In other words, we don’t want to vote, have someone change their mind after the vote, and then we have a problem with something the public has to say. I mean we can’t go back and change that vote.
Kenny Mitchell: That makes sense. What I’m asking is if it’s possible to have a discussion among the Board that the public can listen to.
Wright: Oh, we’ll be able to talk and we’ll let you know. We’re going to go around.
John LaTorre: And then have the public offer input after that discussion?
Wright: I don’t see why not.
Kenny Mitchell: Before a vote is taken in other words.
Wright: I don’t see why not. Does anybody have anything else at this point?
Kenny Mitchell: I wanna to say the same thing I said (inaudible) the Sewer Department (inaudible). My concern would be this (inaudible) the Sewer Department (inaudible). Regardless, the point would be the same. You guys make sure you’re in the public interest.
Wright: Yes.
Kenny Mitchell: So in reality you are working on behalf of the public.
Wright: Correct.
Kenny Mitchell: And it’s not what you personally would believe. Part of that would be what you desire – I guess that comes with part of the territory – (inaudible) your constituents. So, my concern is this, the same thing that I shared at the Sewer Department, I would ask every Board - Fire Department, Sanitary District, not really the (Lighting?) District, Park and Rec, Sewer Board – I think that it is your obligation to research and determine whether or not a CSD is best for the community. It may be, it may not be. I don’t know the answer to that question. But what I am hearing, you know, the scuttlebutt from the community, is that some people like it, some people don’t, I’m going to vote no, we’re going to do this . . . . My answer would be that the obligation is to - if this is for the betterment of the community then by golly we should seriously consider that. I know a lot of things in regard to whatever the final outcome would be, is that wherever we wind up it should be for the community as the most benefit. I would just like to know that we’ve done that. I’ve talked to a few individual Board members on other Boards and they have – some of them were for, some were against - and I’ve listened to the reasons why. I get that and I just challenge them to say hey guys, your obligation as an elected official is to do what’s in our best interest.
Wright: Correct.
Kenny Mitchell: That forgoes potentially my personal opinion. I may not like the idea personally, but if it’s best, then sometimes what’s best goes against my own brain. So that’s what I would ask you to consider.
Wright: I appreciate that Kenny and to respond to that a little bit is that every Board member here was elected except for – you were elected last time (inaudible). So everyone’s been elected and no one’s been appointed. So, it does come with community support that everybody’s here and not by appointed. The other thing is is some have not had the opportunity to go through this. This has been on the agenda for years and we’ve had multiple meetings with the county – (Craig Pedro?) and the rest of them involved and trying to communicate why would it be better for us to be a CSD and is it possible for us to have a CSD that’s not going to impact the community in a harsh way. And for this Board it would definitely hurt our budget, lose employees, and for the community interest for our Park and Rec Department, by losing money and losing where we’re headed with it without any other input of any other budget, it’s going to hurt this Board. I would the think the community would want us not to do something that’s going to take away from the community. But that’s my personal opinion. So that’s why we’re writing the letter.
John Feriani: I can respond to that. We heard the letter being read, those are unknowns. You can’t say that we’re going to lose employees – we/I don’t know that. You might – you might lose 2, you might lose 1. I don’t know the answer to the question, but you don’t know the answer yet.
Wright: Looking at the budgets, the way they stand now, that there is one Board that has a deficit, which is the Sewer District.
John Feriani: What’s a deficit?
Wright: You owe something – by the ones you provided, there is a bill that you owe it, a debt that you owe. No other Board has that debt. By joining, the amount that we have can be used to cover that debt.
Male: Boy.
Wright: I don’t have the papers in front of me but I can get them. They are the ones that you provided.
Male: (inaudible) My fresh thought on that would be that as far as the debt that they have, how is that tendered against the potential income – or not the potential income but the revenues that would be generated for however many years. I’m assuming that when that loan was made, just like anybody else, it would be against the future income and revenue generated by the Sewer Department.
Wright: Right, but by our budgets being combined to one Board, it’s one budget.
Male: Correct, but that doesn’t change the revenue stream that they’re going to be getting from tax revenue because they combine into one budget.
Wright: But what is the deficit that we have at this point? That’s what we were looking at. It’s a $247,000 deficit.
John Feriani: Just to clarify a few things, the Sanitary District debt is a USDA loan, a 40-year loan, it’s at 2%. I think the payments run about $190,000 a year. When we first started the Sanitary District we with $750,000 in debt because of mismanagement by this Board and we got a $5M loan to complete the repairs and additions to the Sanitary District. They did a rate study – TUD wanted to come in and take us over with $85 to $94 a month service charge if they would have taken us over. We did an analysis and we could do it at $53 and some change or whatever it is. Since that time, in the last 6 years, the District has made all its payments on the loan, completed the plan. We have over $3.5M in reserve in the last 6 years. We’ve acquired a $500,000 planning grant, and we’re in line for a $6M grant to replace the majority of the sewer lines in town. So to look at those numbers and see – and we now have the Tribe who is going to expand - we’re now going to pick up sewer from the Rancheria because their septics are failing. That’s going to increase our income. (inaudible) We are very, very financially stable and frankly I don’t know how you’re saying that we would be incurring more debt. The debt is something that’s been planned for at that rate. The USDA had the study . . . .
Wright: I understand that. All I’m saying is this, we’re looking at our budget. I’m not looking at Sewer’s budget, I’m not looking at Fire’s budget, because my responsibility is here. But when I see that there is a Board that has a deficit . . . .
John Feriani: A loan.
Wright: A debt that needs to be paid and it’s more than what we bring in in our budget, what is going to happen with the budget in the future? And we’ve seen this in history with Twain Harte, we’ve seen this history in Groveland. The first thing that gets cut is the Park and Rec Department.
John Feriani: Well, I just want to correct a few things. One thing is we have a $60,000 tax – like you said an unrestricted fund that comes in our taxes – and like I said, in the last 5 years we’ve increased our reserves up to $3.5M. The $60,000 - you’re making statements here that aren’t true . . . .
Wright: How. What’s not true?
John Feriani: You’re making statements that has not been decided. You guys have not let the process go through.
Wright: What have I not said? No, I’m not going to let you get away with saying, you didn’t, because I’m not in your meeting.
John Feriani: You have not been at our meetings
Wright: I won’t be at your meeting.
John Feriani: The fact that you’re saying 4 employees are going to lose their jobs is incorrect.
Wright: Possible.
John Feriani: The one I really like is systematically remove the Board members?
Wright: That was put into place because of the way that - you were told that you would put members in of each Board – start with possible 9 and then go down to 5. That’s why systematically is in there.
John Feriani: The 5 Board members could be your Board. I mean if the public wants your Board to be there, you guys could be the Board.
Wright: Right, but we’re saying systematically being removed means you start with 9 and 4 of them will be systematically removed.
John Feriani: We could actually start 5 then it could be an election right off the bat. And if everybody thought you guys were the best members of the public to do it, it could actually be your Board. So for you to state here that the Park and Rec current Board would be systematically removed and eventually replaced, that’s incorrect. This Board could actually be the Board.
Wright: But it could be systematically removed. It’s not incorrect.
John Feriani: Well, it could be a lot of things but . . . .
John Feriani: At that last meeting, it could start with 11 members.
John Feriani: If it was done by Resolution and all the Boards agreed. If not it could be voted in.
John Feriani: But those 11 members can vote someone off the Board. That was from LAFCO. So if you have a majority of your Board, say 7 of them, they don’t want Park and Rec. They don’t want these activities that we do. They can vote it out.
(multiple voices inaudible)
Artzer: It’s our fear. We want to protect what’s ours.
Male: Do you think the public will allow that to happen?
Male: Can I make a comment? First of all I understand your fears, okay? Because you’ve done a fabulous job for years and years and years and no one is wanting that to diminish in any way. If anything to promote it to be even better than it is. I read the minutes from the last meeting Steve and I commend your comments. We have a special community here and the desire is to keep it special and not let either misunderstandings or lack of letting the exploration of a possibility be fully explored hinder it from seeing if it can be better than what it is by exploring the possibility of a Community Service District. Or not. My concern is – and I didn’t know you guys had been in this discussion for 2 years.
Wright: Longer.
Male: And the possibility to do that. But now that I’ve seen what possibilities could come to benefit the Town of Tuolumne. . . .
Artzer: What are the benefits? I’ve asked that question for – how long have we been at this John? You give the answer.
John Feriani: Where do you want to start?
Artzer: Thirty years you’ve been dealing with this?
John Feriani: Yeah. Where do you want to start?
Artzer: How does it benefit us?
TY Atkins: Let me finish my comment. So to me fear is the expectation that something bad is going to happen. That if we make this move it’s going to be worse. That’s what I’m hearing. Our fear is that it’s going to be worse because there’s going to be these unknown people all of a sudden coming in who don’t have a feeling for our community and all of a sudden they’re going to make decisions that are going to harm what you guys have done well for so many years. I don’t believe it. I think our hope and faith is that it’s going to be better just the quality of people that are in this room and being vigilant to make sure that the Board is governed in a way that’s in the best interest of all the Districts – Tuolumne Park, the Cemetery District, and the Sewer District and all the rest of them. I’m just a little disappointed that I sense there’s a rush into it before we even get a chance to explore it.