BY SALLY MORRIS THE TRINITY JOURNAL
For the second year in a row, the tiny Post Mountain Public Utilities District south of Hayfork has drawn negative attention from the Trinity County grand jury that has concluded the special district may not survive its latest round of troubles unless members of the community "forgive each other and learn to work together."
The Post Mountain PUD is a special district formed to provide fire protection, road maintenance and electric power for approximately 1,000 parcels of land in the Trinity Pines Subdivision located between Hayfork and Forest Glen off Highway 36. An estimated 25 percent of the lots have been developed as residences.
The district has never accomplished its goal of supplying electricity to the subdivision and recently has been struggling mightily to provide fire protection and road maintenance for area residents.
It's also now facing the challenge of retaining enough governing board members to comprise the quorum of three needed to conduct business.
Property owners within the district are charged a $24 annual assessment for fire protection services and have long been requested to pay an additional $35 donation for road maintenance, which some people pay and others don't. The subdivision is served by a combination of private roads and some county roads.
In a report last year, a previous grand jury said the Post Mountain PUD defies the definition of a smoothly functioning district with a clear mission or purpose. That report noted Brown Act violations occurring during governing board meetings in which discussions veered from agenda topics or occurred in private when they should have been public.
Meeting minutes were presented in which area residents complained of long-standing issues going unresolved such as snow clearing not happening and locked gates installed by property owners across roads preventing plows or fire trucks from getting through.
After a follow-up investigation over the past year, the 2008-09 grand jury found many continuing deficiencies.
In its most recent report, the grand jury found that the meetings of the district's board of directors "have often been out of control" and the group is not getting things done — specifically equipment maintenance/ repair, snow removal and road repairs.
Most recently, the Post Mountain fire department nearly ceased to function after the board removed several members and only two volunteers remained. Since then, some new volunteers have stepped forward and are attempting to reorganize the fire department.
A longtime resident of Trinity Pines and former member of the special district's governing board, Margaret Irwin, called the change in fire department staffing a good thing, saying people were very reluctant to volunteer "under the old regime. It was a chaotic, bad situation and people didn't feel safe. The problem is we have a huge influx of pot growers here."
Representing Trinity County's District 5, Supervisor Wendy Reiss said she has worked with the Hayfork Fire Department to help provide training for the new Post Mountain volunteers attempting to reorganize their fire department. She has also attempted to work with the governing board to ensure Brown Act compliance.
The grand jury recommended that the community hold a town hall meeting to recruit more volunteers willing to be trained. It suggested hiring a facilitator to help control the meeting and recommended a number of other steps and common rules of order to help ensure that meetings are respectful and productive.
Post Mountain PUD facilities and equipment include a fire hall, two fire engines and a pickup as well as two snowplows for winter road maintenance. The grand jury found that all of the equipment for both roads and fire "is in a state of disrepair that should not be allowed since it affects the safety of people in the district." It noted the water system at the fire hall hasn't worked for two years and the district doesn't have drivers qualified to drive some of its vehicles.
The grand jury recommended that the district take immediate steps to make sure all equipment is repaired and fully operational and there are qualified and licensed drivers for all equipment.
It noted that board meetings are frequently canceled due to lack of a quorum and recommended holding special meetings when that happens because the "current state of affairs of the district cannot be ignored for two months."
The governing board is comprised of five seats, but has long been operating with just four members. In recent years, there have been several resignations, a few new appointments, and the board is currently down to just three members. Current board president Tom Onwiler has announced his intended resignation Oct. 1.
If the board fails to appoint another member before then, it will cease to function. In that case, the responsibility defaults to the Trinity County Board of Supervisors to appoint someone. With a special district election scheduled in November, no candidates filed for the three four-year terms and one two-year term on the Post Mountain PUD Board.
The grand jury again recommended a town hall meeting to rally support and get volunteers to fill the board, noting that most of the experienced people on the board and fire department have resigned and the new board is getting very little help.
The grand jury report indicated "there is a faction in the community that feels the board is not being run properly, but prefers to complain rather than step up and help. The group believes that the grand jury can solve all their problems, but this is not true. The grand jury does not have any power to dictate any resolution to their problems; it can only investigate and recommend a possible solution."
It concluded that the Post Mountain community "needs to start fresh, look to the future and all work together for the common good of the community. Post Mountain is a beautiful place to live. The community has a lot of equipment and facilities, which, if maintained and managed properly could provide the services needed. The community has potential for a great future. Cooperation and united effort can make this happen. It is imperative that they start right away."
The district board has not yet formally responded to this year's grand jury report and Board President Onwiler could not be reached for comment. In a response last year, the district board urged the public to "bear with us" as new board members began the process of tackling the problems.
Former board member Irwin, who resigned in 2002, said in her opinion the district needs to be allowed to die and become a substation of the Hayfork Fire Department, a 30-minute drive away from Trinity Pines.
"We need a fire department here, but it could be run better by Hayfork," she said.
http://www.trinityjournal.com/news/2009/0902/Front_Page/002.html
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