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Posted by: thepinetree on 08/04/2009 11:01 AM
Updated by: Kim_Hamilton on 08/04/2009 12:43 PM
Expires: 01/01/2014 12:00 AM
:
Letter to the Editor~From George Fry in Response to Diane Gray's Statement Which is Enclosed
"Open letter to Diane Gray....Before I begin I want you to know that what I will be writing is not meant to be personal as it is not in my nature to carryout personal attacks. Yes I am the first to admit that I am very assertive in a positive manner and hopefully factual in my comments. Commenting on your statement that was in “Copperopolis Today” I would like to give you some background as to why I honestly feel compelled to make several comments.....
I have been attending CCWD meetings on a regular basis for the past year and a half. In a letter to the Editor to the Calaveras Enterprise I came out in support of Ed Rich, Bob Dean, Phil Mc Cartney and Don Stump. I have witness a noticeable increase in professionalism and personal integrity on the board since the election of Director’s Rich, Dean and Mc Cartney and anticipate challenger Don Stump will be more of the same. They have been very effective in doing their homework and come prepared to express in a thoughtful manner and hold discussions and make decisions which I find to be in the best interests of all the ratepayers and of all the employees of the district. Speaking of employees, the morale has continued to improve steadily and even more so since the departure of Dave. I attribute part of that to Ed as well as Bob and Phil for their openness to ALL employees even in the challenging economic times for the district. You have to be at the meetings to see the sincerity of these three gentlemen. I came out in support of Don Stump who has many years of professional knowledge of water issues and has been attending the district board meetings for the past 18 months. In my letter to the editor I indicated that there was a board member that was attempting to undermine the re-election of Ed Rich and Bob Dean by soliciting people to run against them. What I find most interesting is that this particular board member lashes out in the district board meetings when it is brought to his attention that someone from the area he represents has called someone on the board other than himself. But, it is okay for him to meddle in the other board member’s districts to find people to run against them.
As you know I began this discussion in the Chamber of Commerce office with you Monday afternoon July 27 but you and your assistant were busy putting labels on postcards you were going to be mailing for your campaign for the CCWD Election and I could not stay longer as an elected school board member I had a school board meeting to attend.
As I said in my opening paragraph I read your comments on “Copperopolis Today” and found them to be very misleading, incorrect, divisive and not at all conducive to establishing what I would consider good relations with the other board members, staff and other public officials should you be fortunate enough to win.
I’m not writing this to disrespect you or intimidate you but to give you some sound comments about some potential problems you may be generating for yourself that you may not even be aware of.
Should you win, I would certainly expect you to look forward to developing good working relationships based upon respect, commitment and the ability to make sound, reasoned judgments. They must be judgments that are formed on fact and not on opinion or favoritism.
Some of the items that you addressed in your statement are “red flags” for me. Here they are in detail for you.
1. Your micro-management statement. To my observation and knowledge the board managed no one but David. He was an employee of the board and had the responsibility to manage and give him direction. Historically, after Steve Felte left, who in my opinion was an outstanding General Manager, CCWD was guilty of micro-management but at least since I’ve been attending board meetings I have not seen evidence of this and I believe it to be nonexistent.
2. I believe that David was and is a quality guy. I don’t believe his merit as a person was ever an issue. It was apparent that his management style raised issues. Suffice to say the board majority chose to terminate him without cause. As for his abrupt dismissal, the issues had been going on for as long as I have been attending meetings before the board majority made the decision. I brought several issues to the board’s attention during my attendance at board meetings addressing his unwillingness to follow the board’s direction and cited many examples. It became crystal clear to at least 3 of the board members that he was out of step with the kind of management the 3 board members were trying to go in a new and what I believed to be a more positive direction for the water district’s future.
4. The $200,000 price tag sounds a lot like I remember Jeff Davidson’s ridiculous observation of Bob Dean’s having $22,000 in travel expenses which he grossly exaggerated as it was a ¼ of this figure. Both figures are irresponsible and are given only to discredit an individual and not to change any behavior. To me the fact of the matter is that the figure of $200,000 has not been established in print. When you look at it in its totality I believe the costs will certainly go down as the cost savings and offsets associated with David’s departure go into effect.
5. As to Ed Rich being directly responsible for the loss of $1.5 million in investment funds, that is like saying you’re responsible for the downturn in economic fortunes in Calaveras County because you’re the Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce. You know as well as I do, that we make decisions that we sometimes regret in hindsight. In this case it is not even that. The investment portfolio is managed by a professional firm that has experience in managing public funds. These funds are rigorously managed through government oversight and ever since the bankruptcy of Orange Co. a system of checks and balances was designed to prevent that.
So what happened? What I regard as shady dealings and misplaced conflicts of interest at the very top. The lack of federal oversight, the private sector playing their games and what I frankly think is out and out deceptive practices caused this problem. It was not Ed Rich. The whole story is this; Ed chaired an Investment sub-committee that reviewed investment policy, compared it to other agencies’ investment policies, rewrote the former CCWD investment policy to reflect new and much more stringent standards, passed through the CCWD Finance committee, had it voted on by the board to become current investment policy and then had it reviewed by an outside association of auditors and public financial officers for approval and possible revision. The upshot of this review was not only was there no revision, CCWD’s Investment Policy received a NATIONAL AWARD for EXCELLENCE. Once this occurred, Ed, like any good director, stepped back and supported CCWD staff to do their job without interfering.
6. As to working collaboratively with other agencies, you must know that CCWD has worked tirelessly to bring these various entities to the table for substantive discussions that will benefit ONLY THEM. CCWD gets nothing out of the talks but a good feeling that the people of Calaveras County are being served to the best abilities of all the elected boards that oversee the various public agencies. If they have issues, they only exist in the minds of the people with these issues. I believe the board members are willing to sit down with anyone provided those person (s) are sincere about wanting to accomplish something positive.
7. The issue of New Hogan. Jeff Davidson would be the first to tell you to keep your “nose” out of his district. The whole water rights issue is very complicated and I do understand the complicity and can explain it’s intricacies but it would take up far too much space in this letter. Let me be clear it must be discussed in an ongoing basis with all special districts who are purveyors of water. I believe much more can be accomplished collectively but there are those out there in special districts who consider their special district as a “sacred cow”.
8. Not to institute rate hikes when they’re needed is irresponsible and will only create greater problems down the road. I believe the current majority on the board would not raise water rates if the hikes are not needed! That is why every government entity in the state is in so much trouble today because they were not willing to recognize the necessity of paying for service. It is just that simple.
Diane, it is exceedingly important, if you use someone else’s figures, which it indicates you have, you need to vet them. I believe you have been given information with little or no basis in fact and you have made comments based on those misinformed figures which only demonstrate your unfortunate lack of knowledge of the issues and a position that opinions are more important than facts. When we are ignorant of the facts, that ignorance is not a value and it is certainly not a policy of CCWD as I have been able to determine from my regular attendance at these board meetings. You might have been a good candidate if you had been attending the CCWD meetings on a regular basis for the past 18 months like Don Stump, and after attending these board meetings, maybe you might have come to the same conclusion I and many others have come to, which is that Ed Rich needs to be re-elected to the CCWD Board of Directors. He needs to continue the work he has been so successful at carrying forth.
I have known Ed for several years. He and I serve on the Calaveras County Mental (Behavioral) Health Board. He has continually and substantially contributed for advocacy for the rights of Behavioral Health Clients in Calaveras County.
There may be some people in the county who feel that opinions carry more weight than fact. They would rather personally attack an individual than address the issue(s). I like you as a fellow chamber member ask you to please not to allow yourself to become one of them. Dealing in fact is the right thing to do. Diane, you have much more integrity than that and I know Jack instilled that in you as Jack had that same kind of integrity! For those of you who did not know Jack, he was Diane’s Dad! He was a truly wonderful person.
Diane I hope you take this information in the positive spirit that it is intended. It is my hope you and I can remain friends and continue to work on projects for the good of the Calaveras County Chamber of Commerce.
Inclosing, I would like to leave you with this quote. “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success”. HENRY FORD
George Fry
Angels Camp
Candidate for City Council"
Diane Gray, CCWD District 4 Statement to Copperopolis Today
"CCWD is facing many serious issues: The search for another General Manager to replace Dave Andres, the lawsuit with UPA, management of
investments, the relationships with the other utility districts and more.
I believe that the Board should stop micro-managing the operation. I believe that Dave Andres was a quality guy and the Board should not have
abruptly fired him. I don’t believe that CCWD can afford the $200,000 price tag it will cost for that unnecessary action.
I, more than any of the other candidates, have relationships with many of the people that CCWD has conflict with today. That is the unique
quality that I can bring to this position, I can and will work toward resolving many of these long standing relationship conflicts.
We need to exercise our water rights from New Hogan damn immediately so that San Joaquin and Stockton don’t take them away forever. We
may have more water per capita than any other county in California and we need investments in infrastructure to keep our water from the valley.
I will not support rate increases!. The last thing people need right now is a rate increase! My opponent Ed Rich voted for an inclining rate
structure which may have actually led to increases for customers. He is also directly responsible for the loss of $1.5 million in investments and
spent $200,000 on the firing of the General Manager. I am much more fiscally conservative.
I believe that CCWD needs to develop the relationships with the other Utility District Boards so that discussions can begin to find ways to share
resources. Once the feuding stops, we can work together to find ways to better serve the rate payers of Calaveras County.
I am very concerned about the recession and see that it continues to have serious impact on Calaveras County. At the Chamber of Commerce
I have seen that businesses continue to struggle and many have closed their doors. Houses and store fronts are empty.
Water is such a critical part of the future of Calaveras County.
Without good, clear-headed management of water rights and distribution, we could lose our right to a precious asset that runs right through the
middle of our county. Now is the time to get serious, stop wasting money and work together to develop regional solutions to our long term
vision for Calaveras County."
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