August
9, 2014
San
Mateo County Times
By
Aaron Kinney
HALF MOON BAY -- The squabble-prone
leaders of the San Mateo County Harbor District at least agree on one thing:
They do not want the district to be eradicated.
The district's board of
commissioners made their first public comments last week on a searing grand
jury report that called for the agency's dissolution. But their contentious and
sometimes confusing reaction underscored one of the chief concerns of the grand
jury, which called the board out for "embarrassing" and
"dysfunctional" behavior.
The purpose of Wednesday's meeting
in Half Moon Bay was to establish a timeline and procedure for responding to
the San Mateo County civil grand jury's July 9 report. The analysis found fault
with the budgeting, financial accounting and governance of the district, which
operates Pillar Point Harbor near Half Moon Bay and manages Oyster Point Marina
in South San Francisco. The district has a $10 million operating budget
supported in part by $5 million in county property taxes.
Commissioner Jim Tucker stepped
forward Wednesday night with a proposal for the five board members to submit
their thoughts on the report to the district's lawyer. The attorney would then
craft the material into a draft response for consideration at a future meeting.
But the idea drew outrage from
Commissioner Sabrina Brennan, who wanted the board to discuss the merits of the
grand jury report right away, and discomfort from the attorney, Steven Miller,
who worried that he was being asked to step outside his role as legal adviser
and formulate policy.
Ultimately the commissioners
voted 4-1 to have general manager Peter Grenell's staff incorporate their
remarks into a draft for review at the board's Aug. 20 meeting. Brennan
dissented, saying she was "disgusted," and announced she would
produce a "minority report" for the grand jury.
It was the latest of many
disagreements between Tucker and Brennan, whose confrontational style has
caused friction on the board. Brennan is sharply critical of her fellow
commissioners, even campaigning to replace Tucker and two others in the
November election. Tucker and other board members have marginalized her,
shooting down her proposals and restricting her comments.
Brennan said Thursday she is
concerned the board will forego public discussion next month on the grand jury
report, whose criticism she welcomed, although she opposes dissolution.
"There will be a motion to
approve the report, and there won't be any discussion except for me, and I have
five minutes, and then they cut me off," Brennan predicted. "I think
having meaningful discussion is necessary given the circumstances."
Tucker said Thursday he didn't
want to share all his thoughts on the grand jury report until the draft
response is ready, but claimed the report contained numerous mistakes and
omissions. For instance, Tucker said, the grand jury failed to note that since
2004 the district has paid down a debt to the state Department of Boating and
Waterways from nearly $20 million to $5.9 million.
"It was very nasty toward
us, and that's a polite word I can use," Tucker said of the report.
"And I don't think it gave us a fair shake."
Commissioner Will Holsinger
said the grand jury's reasoning about the board's disputes is flawed.
"What I find
troubling," he said, "is they use the notion that there is political
discord and personality conflicts as the principal basis for dissolution."
By that logic, the state of
California should be taken over by the U.S. government, said Holsinger,
claiming that disagreement is a basic aspect of democracy.
The question of whether to
dissolve the district would be up to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors,
said Supervisor Don Horsley, who represents the busy fishing port at Pillar
Point. Horsley recently asked the county's Local Agency Formation Commission to
hire a consultant to study the feasibility of dissolution. He expects a report
in December.
Contact Aaron Kinney at
650-348-4357.
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