By Paul Wellersdick
Staff Writer
Posted: 07/12/2011 01:00:00 AM PDT
Paradise Recreation and Park District was the subject of the most recent Butte County Grand Jury report, where the district was found in compliance with laws requiring ethics training.
Eighteen special districts in the county were under the 19-member jury's watch, which included five Paradise jurors. Even though PRPD scored well in the report, tonight its board of directors will be considering an ethics training plan, which Manager Mike Trinca said codifies the district's current operations. California Assembly Bill 1234 requires districts such as PRPD to train all paid employees in ethics.
Trinca said the district unofficially hosts such training for officials who receive compensation salary, stipends or other reimbursements, but the board will be considering making that an official policy.
The Grand Jury distributed surveys to the 18 districts on Oct. 5, 2010 and collected responses a month later finding four districts in compliance - including PRPD and two other recreation and park districts. Two districts were not in compliance and four were not fully compliant but were in the process of becoming so. Six stated they were exempt from compliance. And finally, two failed to respond, but with extended deadlines had completed training.
The Jury opined that high ethical standards in local government are critical to keeping public trust, especially during tough financial times such as these. As such, it recommended that all the districts develop and adopt a plan ensuring
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continued compliance with the ethics training requirements of AB 1234.
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Also, the district was unable to receive a new draft of the Paradise Community Village development agreement to be able to consider it on tonight's agenda. The PCV project is at a crucial but stagnant position awaiting the confirmed participation of the few remaining agencies such as PRPD.
PRPD has pledged $300,000 to help jumpstart the project, but only under certain conditions not yet hashed out. Some of those conditions would be set forth in the development agreement and would spell out, more fully, the ongoing costs of PRPD's participation in the project.
Already, PRPD has signed a memorandum with the PCV partners, but it also hinges on the development agreement. The project was begun several years ago with six agencies, and grew to eight agencies working together to develop 50 acres of land into a new community concept with nearby recreational elements and affordable housing - all paid for by the sale of residential lots and homes which were booming at the time.
Now, with real estate slumping, PRPD and other agencies may need added assurance that their investment will see a return. PRPD is hoping to get that assurance through a second mortgage, the details of which were discussed in closed session at the PCV's last meeting July 5.
While the last Post reported that nearly all of the PCV's funding has been public, and was substantiated by public tax documents found online, PCV leaders say a large private grant got the ball rolling with minimal public risk.
PCV Executive Director Steve Gibson said the SH Cowell Foundation provided a private grant of $673,153. The Cowell foundation also paid $25,000 to find a big investor - the Community Housing Improvement Program, which is the project's most stable player, Gibson said.
CHIP has $5 million of mostly public funds ready to build an affordable housing apartment project if the rest of the players step up to help pave the way.
PRPD's $300,000 investment would help pay the estimated $1 million to pave a road into the dirt field and bring power lines in.
Timing is critical because CHIP is on the clock to start the project this season or lose its funding.
PRPD meets tonight at 7 p.m. at the Terry Ashe Recreation Center at 6626 Skyway.
http://www.paradisepost.com/news/ci_18457016
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