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Local News that's worth the "Click"
LATEST NEWS Is Mary Burns behind the latest school district fiasco? Every indication is there. Read for yourself by clicking on her picture below
MEASURE "W" on Your BallotClick here to read the Measure, arguments for and against
Residents divided by Measure WAndrea Bennett, Staff Writer10/04/2006 05:34:45 AM PDT MIRA LOMA -- Residents are stirred up about a measure on the November ballot that would change the way directors are elected to the Jurupa Community Services District board. Measure W proposes to create five divisions within the district, with one director on the board from each division. The district includes Jurupa, Eastvale, Glen Avon, Indian Hills, Pedley, Sunnyslope and part of Mira Loma. Some residents, who fear the board will be overrun by more active and vocal candidates from the populous Eastvale area, applaud the measure in the name of equal representation. Others, mostly Eastvale residents, are protesting the measure, calling it "gerrymandering." "The (board) president (Paul Hamrick) and the (board) vice president (James Huber) put it on the ballot to keep Eastvale residents off the board," said Eastvale resident Andrea Hove. "They're both up for re-election next year and they saw the numbers (director) Kathie Bogart brought in last year -- which were the highest any candidate brought in before -- and they know we can bring in the votes." But Indian Hills resident Huber, who has served on the district board for 28 years and authored the measure, said creating the districts would actually put him out of the race since he lives only blocks away from another board director, R. M. "Cook" Barela. "I really don't have a dog in this fight," Huber said. "If this goes through, Eastvale is going to end up with two seats on the board and they only have one now. I feel someone on the board should represent each area -- the (Jurupa Unified) School District and the park district have it set up that way." Mary Burns, executive director of the Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center and a Mira Loma resident, said the measure would ensure the district's interests reach the less affluent or less populated areas. "What I fear is, because our community is so economically diverse, only the wealthy will be able to run," Burns said. "Now, we could have all five people on the same block." Bogart, the one JCSD director who resides in Eastvale, said the measure will bar quality candidates just because of where they live. "When you're looking for someone to represent you, it's about who can best represent the entire district," Bogart said. "If you have a division where no one wants to run, what are you going to do? You need to open the area and give everyone the same playing field to be a board member." Huber said opponents of the measure are mistaken when they say it permits less qualified candidates. "It's kind of disingenuous when they say they want the most qualified on the board, as if some areas in this district don't have qualified people," Huber said. Bogart said the real difficulty is getting people to run in the first place. Many are qualified, she said, but few have the time or the will. Residents on both sides, though, expressed uncertainty about the issue, since information about the measure has not been widely circulated. Opponents are distrustful of the division boundaries, which are being presented to voters but are not set in stone. The boundaries will not be drawn until the measure passes next month, meaning they can change, Bogart said. "Only after the measure's approved will the board create the divisions. So I can draw a line whichever way I want to. That's important for voters to realize," she said. "We don't know the way the district will be split up. The temporary map doesn't mean anything. "You're voting on this blindly," she added. The divisions will be determined by the number of water meters and apartments, district officials said, as the 2000 census does not represent the enormous growth in the district over the past several years. Eastvale, burgeoning with development and rising in population, and the chance that its residents will end up filling all five board seats is a real concern for people in the rest of the district's area, said Penny Newman, executive director for the Center of Community Action and Environmental Justice and a Glen Avon resident. "Eastvale has a very high density, where other parts of the district are more rural, and there's a distinct possibility that a high density area would be able to control the board," she said. "This guarantees the board will not be monopolized and confined to a slate of candidates who happen to be from Eastvale." Hove said she is working to inform other Eastvale residents about the measure, which would affect the service district in which her community has invested a great deal. Eastvale residents pay heftier taxes to the district, which manages sewer and water services throughout the area. And for Eastvale exclusively, the district also serves as the park district, Hove said. Hove said her community has been organized and effective in removing the district's former general manager and holding the district accountable for multiple oversights and judgment errors. "I'm not saying districting isn't a good idea when an organization is run efficiently. But JCSD is not," Hove said. "I think the motive for people of Eastvale is some accountability at JCSD."
Andrea Bennett can be reached at (909) 483-9347, or by e-mail at
Change of Resolution on the Redevelopment agencies AgendaThe Low Cost Housing Resolution change we asked for is now on the agenda for this coming Tuesday. This is a tremendous victory for our community as it shows that what we united for, at the VFW and then at the high school did make a difference. Change is occurring in our district your support and involvement has made a difference. We now need to do a follow up at this Tuesday Board of Supervisors meeting. Its very important for us to be there.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS – COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE 1st FLOOR – COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER 4080 Lemon Street , Riverside, Calif. (Clerk 951-955-1060) 9:00 A.M. REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING: 4.1 Adoption of RDA Resolution 2006-43, Proposed Change of Use for Assessor's Parcel Nos. 185-460-001, 185-470-001 and 185-470-002 on Camino Real at Limonite in Jurupa Valley, 2nd District. Please print this out, read it and if you have any concerns let us know what you think. We hope to see you there. Cook 951-727-4333
Next JCSD Special Board Meeting MONDAY; September 25, 2006
11201 Harrel Street Click here to read the land return request page.5 of the agenda and in the supporting documents, pages 114-115 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JCSD Board Meeting with Department of Health Services MONDAY; September 18, 200611201 Harrel Street Mira Loma in the board room Regular Board Meeting at 5:00 PM
Board Majority call for a Special Meeting
CALL AND NOTICE OF
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
JCSD Special Board Meeting to discuss the violation notice you received in your mail to be discussed: |
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 Silvia Flores / The Press-Enterprise Carole McGreevy's new role is called "manager on special assignment" -- a position specifically tailored for her. It allows her to retain full pay and benefits until her official retirement on Dec. 1.
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She now becomes "manager on special assignment" -- a position specifically tailored for her under terms of an agreement approved by the board in May. The position allows her to retain full pay and benefits until her official retirement on Dec. 1. She is paid $13,853.50 per month and retains a monthly car allowance of $807.16 per month.
Assistant General Manager Eldon Horst will act as interim general manager until a new general manager is hired.
McGreevy and board members left the meeting without commenting.
McGreevy's departure followed a series of gaffes and revelations that left directors grasping for explanations when confronted by angry constituents.
In the latest instance -- which prompted Wednesday's special meeting -- the district violated state law when it awarded a $1.5 million contract for a water project without seeking competitive bids.
In the past month, the California Department of Health Services cited and fined the district for inadequate water-quality monitoring and other violations.
It was also revealed that the district sold surplus land to Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, and his business partner, apparently without first offering it to other public agencies -- a violation of state law.
During Wednesday night's meeting, directors announced that they planned to rescind the contract awarded last month to Rancho Cucamonga-based Basin Water and put the project out to bid.
"We all dropped the ball on this one," veteran board member Jim Huber said.
But other board members clearly held McGreevy responsible, not just in this instance, but others.
"Within the last 60 days, how many problems have we had?" Kenneth McLaughlin asked McGreevy during one tense exchange.
"A couple of problems," McGreevy answered, adding that some situations had been blown out of proportion.
McGreevy described the failure to seek competitive bids "an oversight" but said she accepted full responsibility.
Board members R.M. "Cook" Barela, McLaughlin and Kathryn Bogart called Wednesday night's meeting after learning from McGreevy that a competing company had challenged the awarding of the contract to Basin Water.
The agency, which has an estimated 21,000 connections, provides water and sewer service to residents in the unincorporated Riverside County communities of Eastvale, Glen Avon, Pedley, Sunnyslope and parts of Mira Loma.
Reach Sandra Stokley at 951-368-9647 or sstokley@PE.com
Jurupa district violates state bidding law on contract
JURUPA DISTRICT: A meeting is called after the bidding process is skipped on a big contract. 10:00 PM PDT on Tuesday, September 5, 2006By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise
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The Jurupa Community Services District awarded a $1.5 million contract to a Rancho Cucamonga company for a nitrate-removal system last month without seeking competitive bids, a violation of state law.
Some of the board members, who had voted unanimously to award the contract to Basin Water, said they thought the project had been put out to bid. They said they were surprised last week when district General Manager Carole McGreevy notified them of a protest filed by Layne Christensen Company of Fontana.
Board members R.M. "Cook" Barela, Kathryn Bogart and Kenneth McLaughlin called a special meeting for tonight after board President Paul Hamrick refused to set up a meeting on the latest in a string of controversies.
"The problem is that we messed up," Barela said Tuesday. "The contract was awarded without a bid."
The district's attorneys said the failure to seek bids apparently was an oversight.
"It is obvious to me that bidding the purchase was simply overlooked because of the District's desire to take immediate action to protect public health," Victor Wolf of the law firm Best, Best & Krieger said in an e-mail to McGreevy.
Wolf did not return a telephone call Tuesday.
Hamrick declined to comment. McGreevy did not return calls Tuesday.
Joe Berk, water-treatment systems engineer for Layne Christensen, also declined to comment.
State Law
California's Public Contract Code requires community services districts to solicit competitive bids for any "building, structure or improvement when the cost exceeds" $25,000.
A section of the state's contract code allows for an exception in the event of an emergency, but it requires the governing body to make a finding of an emergency.
No such finding was made, Barela said.
Nathan Barankin, a California attorney general's office spokesman, said a violation of the code is treated purely as a civil matter, meaning someone could sue to void the contract.
$500,000 Lower Offer
In the Aug. 22 letter to McGreevy and copied to Hamrick, Berk stated that his company could provide a comparable nitrate-removal system for $500,000 less than Basin Water, the company that got the job.
Basin Water officials did not return a call Tuesday.
The district, which provides water and sewer service to much of the Jurupa Valley, has been battling rising nitrate levels as it races to keep pace with the demand for water in the booming Eastvale area.
The district, which has an estimated 21,000 water connections, has been under pressure from the California Department of Health Services to stop using wells with high levels of the contaminant, a byproduct of the area's agricultural and dairy farming past. The district has not been accused of serving water over the state health limit, but contamination was nearing that point.
Elevated nitrate levels have been linked to a potentially fatal oxygen deficiency known as "blue baby syndrome" in infants younger than 6 months old. It's not considered a health risk for older children or adults.
In April, state health officials ordered the district to stop using Well 17-- one of the district's highest-producing water wells -- because nitrate levels were approaching the state limit of 45 parts per million.
The state cited and fined the district last month for failing to adequately monitor nitrate in its drinking-water supply and failing to submit required laboratory results to the state.
Bogart and Barela said discussions to purchase a nitrate-removal system began in May and culminated Aug. 14, when the board awarded the contract to Basin Water.
Bogart said she assumed that all requirements, including soliciting competitive bids, had been satisfied before the vote.
"As directors, we didn't even consider that they didn't do what they should have done," Bogart said.
Multiple Controversies
The district has had several controversies in the past year.
In May, the district sold 4acres apparently without first giving local parks and school districts a chance to buy it -- a violation of state law.
Last December, Barela asked the grand jury to investigate the district's printing contracts, 90 percent of which went to a business co-owned by Hamrick's son-in-law, whose wife works for the district. The grand jury declined.
Sewer-Line Contract
Days after his election in November 2005, Barela criticized the district for awarding a sewer-line contract without a bid. The board met in an emergency session to approve the contract; Barela contends the situation was not an emergency. McGreevy said the bid process would have taken too long and resulted in people moving into new homes without sewer service.
McGreevy, appointed to the general manager's position in 1999 after working her way up through the ranks, has come under criticism during the past year stemming from the district's various difficulties.
Vote on General Manager
In May, a divided board of directors voted to retain McGreevy as general manager until December 2006 or until a new general manager is hired, whichever comes first.
After that, McGreevy will assume the title of "general manager on special assignment," helping her replacement until her retirement on Dec. 1, 2007. She will retain her full pay of $147,000 and benefits until that time.
Directors Hamrick, Jim Huber and Kenneth McLaughlin voted in favor of the retirement package. Barela voted no, and Bogart abstained.
Staff writer Richard K. De Atley contributed to this report.
Reach Sandra Stokley at 951-368-9647 or sstokley@PE.com
Jurupa: the Sleeping Giant has Awakened
Town Hall Meeting draws 500 plus residents: Many citizens not allowed time to address their concerns before Supervisor Tavaglione.
With a stack of speaker cards still before him, the meeting was cut short at 8:30 pm last night and area residents walked away wondering how much of what Supervisor Tavaglione said, he would do, would come to pass.
In June, while Supervisor Tavaglione was on vacation, the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution that used monies earmarked for low-cost housing to purchase 15 acres of land at the corner of Limonite and Camino Real.
Since then residents of Indian Hills and Jurupa Hills have been holding a series of community meetings in private residents, and the VFW Hall that drew over 200 residents to determine what they could do to oppose the housing project. Four times his staff had stated before Monday Night’s meeting that a low-cost housing project was going to be built at the Limonite–Camino Real property purchased with Redevelopment money.
As soon as the Supervisor was introduced, at last night's meeting the first topic Tavaglione addressed, was that issue.
"No low cost housing will be build," he told the standing room only crowd and the public clapped in appreciation. Tavaglione then gave a brief description on how it came about that the county purchased the land and took note, that the crowd was not interested in any high density projects going into that location. "We are going to look, at other options," the Supervisor said.
Long time resident, Betty Stinson, who was among the first to fill out a speaker card, was not called upon to speak to address the supervisor and his entourage of governing officials sitting on the platform at the 450 capacity theater at Patriot High School.
"There is a new housing development planned just around the corner from there, 200 new homes will be build there and those residents are going to have to use Camino Real to get to Limonite, we can’t handle the traffic now, and its getting worst," she had said earlier. "We really don't need a housing project or other resident buildings there to add to the traffic."
Other residents that were given time to speak echoed her concerns: "When are we going to stop approving new building developments, in this area," one resident asked. There was no answer from the officials present, as the crowd applauded in support of the citizen’s remarks.
Another Indian Hills resident Elizabeth Halter wanted reassurance that low-cost high density homes will not be built there, and asked Supervisor Tavaglione to change the resolution, which he promised to do. "But until that ordinance is changed, Elizabeth said, "We'll have to be watchful, and thank him, when he does it." "Many in this room, met at the VFW and we have been holding a series of community meetings at a private residences, because of that low-cost housing project," Indian Hills resident Layla Riley told the supervisor. "We want reassurance that low cost housing will not be built, change the resolution and survey the public, see what we want,” she said.
“We want re-assurance, that the low-cost housing isn’t build,” another resident asked. Tavaglione said, that the misunderstanding about low cost housing came about because the supervisors purchased the land by using, “money, set aside for low-cost housing." But, those funds can be repaid and other options found.
“I am hearing, what you are saying, loud and clear,” he told the crowd. Reaffirming that he would see that the resolution is changed and said that the low-income housing funds can be repaid and the property developed as a park or a community center but he cautioned the maintenance would have to be paid for by the community or other funds obtained for that purpose.
"We don’t need another senior housing track," Another area resident said. Tavaglione favors building a gated senior housing project there, but the residents want a community center instead. The survey would reveal more of what the public would support, and could decide if they would support a tax increase to pay for the maintenance of those facilities.
Redevelopment funds can be used to build the community center, much like those funds were used to build the youth boxing facility in Rubidoux. But area residents wonder if their tax dollars should already be sufficient to maintain the community center and two new parks in the area.
Most in attendance were seeking the building of an attractive town hall community center, similar to the one that was build at the Preserve in Chino.
"There is no reason why we can't have that type of community center build here," Riley said, when she spoke, and shared with the supervisor that a park-walk type of grounds leading toward the community center would be enjoyed by all citizens.
Long time resident David Barnes, did not gain any points at last night’s meeting with the supervisor when he addressed him in public.
"This place has gone down the tubes on your watch," he told the supervisor. Trash, and tires and gangs it’s all here. Every Friday, when the sun goes down, the town becomes a dump, with loud noise and trash being dumped everywhere. We need help," he said.
As Barnes walked away, a citizen, seated next to Bob Roberts asked: "Who is that?" "Oh, that guy, why that's the "lone Press," was the answer. As the crowd began to leave, with many questions still not answered, a member of the public said, "We’ll be back," as the crowd walked away.
Supervisor rejects low-income housing
Low-income housing rejected
JURUPA:
A town hall meeting allays residents' concerns about plans for recently purchased land.
10:00 PM PDT on Monday, August 28, 2006By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise
GLEN AVON - Supervisor John Tavaglione reassured a standing-room-only crowd in the 450-seat Little Theater at Patriot High School on Monday night that low-income, high-density housing will not be coming to the Jurupa area in the near or far future.
"I heard loud and clear from the community," Tavaglione told the cheering crowd.
Billed as a town hall meeting, the two-hour session also saw Tavaglione acknowledge that Riverside County's code enforcement department is "failing you and it's failing me."
Residents expressed exasperation and outrage at the mounds of illegally dumped trash on streets and hillsides, broken-down cars and vans parked on front lawns and on public streets and multiple families living in rundown homes with broken windows and overgrown lawns.
"After sundown on Friday, Jurupa becomes a lawless, rude dump," Glen Avon resident David Barnes said.
"Under your watch, this place has gone down the tubes and I want something done," he told Tavaglione. "We need help bad."
Tavaglione promised that a reorganization of code enforcement operations was planned.
Riverside County Sheriff Bob Doyle said his department would be deploying more than 400 deputies in the unincorporated areas of the county.
In an effort to tackle the gang problem, gang-task-force teams were being formed and Community Action Teams were being beefed up.
Resident Virgil Hayden drew the night's biggest round of applause by asking "When are we going to stop building all these housing developments?"
"Our schools are overcrowded and our streets are gridlocked," he said, as the crowd cheered.
Monday night's meeting was triggered by supervisors' July purchase of a 15-acre parcel of land in the upscale Indian Hills neighborhood of Jurupa.
Money earmarked for low- and moderate-income property was used to buy the land.
The purchase triggered an outcry from the community, which held a July meeting that drew more than 150 angry residents.
But Tavaglione said Monday night that the low-income housing fund can be repaid and the property developed as a park or a community center or a gated senior community.
"We're open to ideas," he said.
Reach Sandra Stokley at 951-368-9647 or sstokley@PE.com
Community Meeting called at Patriot High School
2nd District County Supervisor John Taviglione will be meeting with Indian Hills residents and others regarding the low-cost housing project proposed for the corner of Camino real and Limonite Avenue as well as other community concerns on August 28, at 6:30 PM at Patriot High School.
Tavigilone has said, he does not plan for any low cost housing projects to be built in Jurupa, but that is not what the resolution the Board of Supervisors adopted says. Among other suggestions made by his staff is for low cost condominiums to be build at the site. Tavigilone favors a gated senior citizens housing project, but the majority of Indian Hills residents oppose any type of housing project there.
Two senior citizens housing projects are already in the works for this area, instead Community members have proposed an attractive community center for the area, which could serve as a disaster preparedness center, a daytime police substation, county offices as well as a center that could serve senior citizen and other community activity and needs, with a park in the front of the building, sort of what can be found at the Parkhouse Preserve in Chino?
Supervisor Tavigilione has said, he is open to community suggestions.
Talk of low-income tract riles residents INDIAN HILLS: They want the county-owned site to be used for a park, fire station or restaurant.
12:35 AM PDT on Wednesday, July 26, 2006
By SANDRA STOKLEY
The Press-Enterprise
GLEN AVON - The meeting hall at the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Mission Boulevard was cramped, hot and stuffy Tuesday night.
But that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the more than 100 Indian Hills residents who showed up to express opposition to a low-income housing project they fear will be built in their midst.
Riverside County buys 25 acres for $13 million
Aquatic center, senior housing likely uses for two parcels
By Nita Hiltner, Special to the Daily Bulletin
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
An aquatic center and housing for seniors will likely be built on property recently purchased by Riverside County in the Indian Hills and Glen Avon areas.
The cost of both parcels is $13 million, which the Board of Supervisors agreed to Tuesday.
One of the parcels -- 15 acres at Limonite Avenue and Camino Real in Indian Hills -- was approved to be used for low-income housing in the early 1980s. The project planned at the time was a poorly designed, dense project and an ‘‘instant slum,'' said John Field, chief of staff for Supervisor John Tavaglione. With the county's purchase of the land, that project is no longer going forward.
Riverside County Plans low cost Housing Project
At Limonite Avenue & Camino Real
Indian Hills Community Meeting Called
Tuesday night ~ July 25, 2006
VFW Hall ~ 8607 Mission Blvd
6:30 PM
Between Pyrite and Pedley Road, north side
For more information on this meeting please call;
Kelly or Roger Bacon
at their cell phone
909-578-1120
For More news on this issue
