By Jason Hoppin
Posted: 06/29/2011 05:23:25 PM PDT
Updated: 06/29/2011 06:22:42 PM PDT
SANTA CRUZ - A citizen-led county grand jury on Wednesday released a report blasting management of the county's fastest-growing city, Watsonville. It didn't take long for some city leaders to blast back.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by the Sentinel earlier this week, touches on several controversies that have divided the city, some of which can seem insignificant to outsiders but have roiled Watsonville politics. Critics largely held fire until it was officially released, but once it was, they unloaded.
“It seems to be a political agenda by a few individuals that the grand jury bought into and presented,” Watsonville Mayor Daniel Dodge said.
The civilian, 19-member jury annually selects topics and makes findings. This year it focused on Watsonville, a city expected to soon compete with Santa Cruz for the largest in the county but dogged by rampant unemployment and frequent political infighting. The grand jury also delved into another issue that draws as much litigation as it does agreement — transportation planning, calling for the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission to assume greater authority over regional and local transportation issues.
Watsonville controversies have included an 800-square-foot restaurant patio built on contaminated land and a long-delayed fire truck purchase where even the odometer reading was in dispute. Much of the criticism has come from Councilmember Emilio Martinez, who posted on his blog this week that the report vindicated his views.
“The interrelation between the City Council and the city staff, there's a real dynamic there,” said Steve Johnson, a grand jury member who led the Watsonville investigation. “There are things that are broken.”
City Manager Carlos Palacios has already called the report biased. City staff have 60 days to respond to it, while the City Council has 90 days.
The jury also blasted Watsonville's planning efforts, suggesting it halt development plans around the airport and saying Watsonville Redevelopment Agency staff were “dismissive and contemptuous” of the jury's efforts to gather information.
Dodge said he has never had a problem communicating with city staff. He also said the city has bigger problems to deal with than the fire truck and patio, which was built on contaminated land and triggered the jury's look at the city.
“A voluminous amount of hours has been spent on this,” Dodge said. “I'm sorry to see that time and energy is being used on this instead of the greater issues that Watsonville faces.”
Another major grand jury recommendation was having the Transportation Commission take over transportation planning for local agencies, partly due to frustrations with increasing traffic congestion and a lack of momentum on projects to ease the problem.
The RTC consists of board members from all local governments, and works with state agencies such as Caltrans. Grand juror Jay Leite said the jury is seeking more regional leadership and authority on transportation issues, and named the RTC as the likely choice due to its expertise.
“Have a real voice as opposed to just a consultative voice,” Leite said.
The RTC also has the most recent local transportation plan, completed last year, and is already working on a new one. The jury recommended the RTC take over the transportation sections of local general plans some of which haven't been updated for years. Capitola's was finished right before the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but the city started the general plan update process earlier this year.
RTC staff were cool to the idea, pointing out that the commission already holds monthly planning meetings with local government representatives. RTC staffers said the jury's frustration made sense, but said the RTC is coordinating closely with local agencies.
“We're trying to keep the regional perspective,” RTC Executive Director George Dondero said. “(Cities') circulation (plans) are looking more at the micro level.”
The jury also looked into local tax delinquencies, health care vendor selection at the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and potential overcrowding issue at county correctional facilities.
INVESTIGATIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS
The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury also examined other agencies and issued findings and recommendations.
Regional transportation
The Regional Transportation Commission should write transportation sections of general plans for cities and counties since a lack of integrated planning has resulted in ‘deplorable traffic congestion.'
Property taxes
Tax Collector's Office should establish policies for obtaining a waiver for fines on delinquent taxes and communicate them broadly to ensure fairness and transparency.
Pajaro Valley Unified school district
School district should develop process to increase vendor competition for insurance services and improve comprehensive accounting of costs.
County Corrections
Reducing recidivism should be primary goal and a cost-benefit analysis should be conducted to ensure money is well-spent in era of declining revenue.
SOURCE: Grand jury report
AT A GLANCE
2011 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury Report
WHO: Jurors Janice Hewitt, Kris Desmond, Marc Los Huertos, Doug Horton, Alex Clancy, Jay Leite, Carl Galewski, Greg Fyvie, Jim Kerr, Rich Simms, Cheri Hrapoff, Steve Johnson, Patricia Goslin, Erik Zinn, Bob Blanchfield, William Gutzwiller, Gayle Larson, Dolores McCabe and Amber McMeans
WHEN: Release is set for Wednesday
WHERE: www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/grandjury
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18378049?nclick_check=1
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