AGENDA April 20, 2015 Meeting of the Homestead Valley
P.O. Box 3694, Landers, CA 92285 www.hvccsite.org AGENDA April 20, 2015 Meeting of the Homestead Valley Community Council 3:00 p.m. at the Yucca Mesa Community Center, 3133 Balsa Ave. Flag Salute Welcome back Adrienne Bishop and Beverly Burkitt Roll Call/Delegate List Approve Agenda Approve Minutes of March 16 Meeting Treasurer’s Report: Betty Munson 1. Guest Comments on items not on the agenda 2. Election of Officers Tabled until By-Laws review; more delegates 3. SB County Fire Dept - Chief Rick Denison 4. SB County Sheriffs Dept - Sgt. Rick Millard 5. Guest Speaker - Pat Flanagan BLM Mojave Route Network Project 6. Renewable Energy Projects 7. Report on LV-JV and Morongo Basin MACs LV illegal dumping report in agenda packet 8. SRA Fire Tax Update Obernolte Town Hall report in this Agenda packet 9. Committees: Fund Raising/Events-no activity Advisory-no meeting of association presidents needed Public Outreach (Betty Munson) Community Services/Improvements/Cooperation (Rick Sayers) Scenic 247 (Betty Munson)10. President’s Report 11. Action Items - Community Reports List - Announcements 12. Adjourn - next meeting Monday, May 18, 3:00 p.m. Location: HVCC DELEGATES / COMMITTEE LIST January 2015 INTERIM OFFICERS President: Joanna Wright Vice President: Rick Sayers Secretary/ Treasurer: Betty Munson COUNCIL MEMBERS Members appointed by the 4 HVCC Organizations, residing in the community they represent. Up to 3 voting members from each community, plus alternate to vote in case of an absence. Adrienne Bishop Beverly Burkittt Cliff Carlson Jim Hanley Jim Harvey Michael Krantz Betty Munson Rick Sayers Joanna Wright Landers Landers YMIA JVIA JVIA Landers JVIA YMIA JVIA 364-2345 364-3684 228-0031 364-4829 401-1015 364-2172 364-2646 574-6598 364-2207 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Alternate makrantz@gmail,com [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] AD HOC COMMITTEES Committee members not required to be members of the Council Audit: Marine Base Expansion: Chairperson: Amy Granat Betty Munson, Michele Myers, Jim Harvey STANDING COMMITTEES Fund Raising/Events: activity postponed till further notice Scenic 247 Committee Chairperson: Betty Munson Advisory Committee Presidents of the 4 HVCC Community Associations Community Outreach Chairperson: Betty Munson Jim Hanley, Rick Sayers Community Services / Improvements / Cooperation Chairperson: Rick Sayers Jim Hanley MINUTES March 16, 2015 Meeting of the Homestead Valley Community Council 3:00 p.m. at the Flamingo Heights Community Center, 55977 Perris Road Flag Salute - 3:00 p.m. Roll Call/Delegate List - Jim Harvey, Michael Krantz absent; Larry Parrott added to Roster for FHCA Guests: Mary Coulombe; Adrienne Bishop, Richard Lutringer, Landers; Dennis Staley, Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency; Linda E. Walsh, JVIA; Lib Koenig, MAC/SAC/RCA; Rick Millard, SB County Sheriffs; Rick Denison, SB County Fire; Barbara Harris, Morongo Basin Historical Society Approved Agenda Approved Minutes of February 16 Meeting Treasurer’s Report: no activity on account. 1. Guest Comments on items not on the agenda - none 2. Election of Officers Tabled last month until after By-Laws review and more delegates added from Landers, Flamingo Heights and Yucca Mesa 3. SB County Fire Dept - Battalion Chief Rick Denison has taken Chief Gary Bush’s position. District covers Yucca Valley to Swanee Rd in Johnson Valley, out to Needles to the river, today is first day here as liaison between communities and the department. New chief is John Chamberlain has replaced Dave Benfield who is also retiring. Headquarters in Yucca Valley. Now testing Text to 911. Will bring statistic reports. 4. SB County Sheriffs Dept - Sgt. Rick Millard, now administrative sergeant replacing Rick Collins who was transferred to Yucaipa. Formerly one of the Watch Commanders, long service in the community. Details of stats report in this agenda packet, circulated to communities. 5. Updates on DRECP, County SPARC Forum, Landers Bowman Solar - Lorrie Steely, Mojave Communities Coalition Collaborative (MC3) - unable to attend. - Richard Lutringer, Save Landers - resident of Landers, filed emergency appeal to Board of Supervisors in December against Bowman Solar permit, appeal fee paid with community donations. s-Power representation of 30-acre project was misleading to Planning Department staff, who did not visit site, sPower described it as disturbed and with little visual impact; notifications very limited and untimely, work on power lines begun before permit. Hearing scheduled for May 5. Info at https://landersforresponsiblesolar.wordpress.com/ Discussion about County Renewable Energy Element in the County General Plan which places emphasis on local input, early notification about project applications to a much wider range of property owners; solar installations in Joshua Tree using 2/3 of water allocation for Joshua Tree; also County comment to DRECP makes a good guideline for comment on SPARC forum. 6. Report on LV-JV and Morongo Basin MACs Supervisor Ramos reviewed a long list of County responses to local issues. Some issues were mentioned that were first brought up by HVCC – included Scenic 247, industrial renewable energy, hauled water ban and illegal dumping. Ignacio Nuñez from County Land Use Code Enforcement is coming to LV-JV MAC Thursday, March 19, to speak about illegal dumping of trash and tires in the desert. Betty has sent personal e-mail to George Runner, Board of Equalization, about years of complaints to JVIA, HVCC and MAC, describing JV community clean-up experiences, asking for help. Sales and property taxes go toward solid and hazardous waste management; communities need help. Illegal dumping is getting worse. MB MAC - Lib Koenig, Flamingo Heights. Caltrans had reported on Hwy 62, redoing road and access to it, maps on their website. A review given on OHV. Dollar General is building left turn lane on Hwy 247. 7. SRA Fire Tax Update HVCC was the first to start protests about this “fee” when Jim Harvey announced it just after it passed the legislature. Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association petition info included with this agenda. 8. Committees: Fund Raising/Events-no committee yet. Fundraiser parties and other events require volunteers to promote, plan, decorate hall, shop and or make food, cleanup. Tabled until fundraising is needed and volunteers are available. Advisory - no meeting of association presidents needed Public Outreach (Betty Munson) Radio, newspaper announcements; -distributed information on the various renewable energy issues. -HVCC Calendar of Events, community updates on meetings and events needed, JVIA updates made. -Need photos and dump site locations for future presentations on illegal dumping Community Services/Improvements/Cooperation (Rick Sayers) Yucca Mesa Improvement Association hosting Abigail Day, big fundraising event for 6-grader Abigail Snipes who has a rare form of cancer, March 28. Scenic 247 (Betty Munson) Supervisor Ramos reported to MAC that County scenic highway guidelines had been amended by the Supervisors to align with Caltrans guidelines. 9. President’s Report -none Cliff Carlson showed survey card from Congressman Paul Cook concerning ACEC for Flattop Mesa and Black Lava Butte. Question conflict with Dianne Feinstein Desert Conservation bill. 10. Action Items and Community Reports List (for Betty) circulate to communities 1. Write comments to Land Use Services supporting Landers appeal against Bowman Solar permit 2. SRA Fire Tax information 3. Abigail Day information 4. Get info on lava buttes ACEC survey. 5. All communities please support each other’s events being announced here: Announcements - JVIA Bake Sale Auction & Spring Dinner, Saturday April 4 - at 5:00 p.m. before Spring Dinner Bake Sale Auction starts at 5:00, Dinner at 6:00 - Landers - New Bus stop shelter installed at Post Office. Landers meeting April 11 at 3:00 p.m. - Flamingo Heights - Larry Parrott discussed case of resident who installed a solar system 2 years ago, but has a year end bill from SCE $3400. Potluck Dinner at Flamingo Heights March 17 at 6:00 p.m. $7, $1 with a dish -Yucca Mesa Community Garden being installed. Apr. 17 catered Italian Dinner, 6-8 p.m. lasagnas, salad, bread and glass of wine. 11. Adjourn - next meeting Monday, April 20, 3:00 p.m. Location: Yucca Mesa Community Center, 3133 Balsa Ave just off Aberdeen Rd SHERIFFS STAT REPORT AND OTHER INFORMATION MARCH 16, 2015, HVCC MEETING Administrative Sergeant Rick Millard Jan-Feb 2015 STATS MB01 REPORTING DISTRICT - Johnson Valley 58 calls for service, 7 crime reports taken, of those there were 2 arrests, battery, domestic violence. Exhaustive search still ongoing for missing person, Rene Dusko from Johnson Valley, in the system MB02 REPORTING DISTRICT - Landers, Flamingo Heights, Yucca Mesa 544 calls for service, 82 crime reports taken, 16 arrests; many narcotics, burglaries, weapons charges, failing to yield, false information to a police officer. TIPS for the communities: • Sheriffs Department needs YOUR help, • Criminal element stays up day and night. Always lock up personal property. • Buddy system with neighbors to look after each other’s property. • CALL when any problems are witnessed, including OHV violations. The Department is patrolling these large areas. Call in anything suspicious, for the record. • Reports are prioritized, by severity of crime. All calls are recorded in call-for-service sheet, life-threatening incidents take priority over stolen property, but call-ins alert the department to trouble spots so patrol strategies can be worked out. • In Sgt Millard’s 18 years of service, problems have increased, now arrests often released early. Answers to questions from Council and audience: -County area includes from Camp Rock Road, down to the County line including Morongo, Pioneertown and Rimrock, up Hwy 62 and as far out as Cadiz. -No information to report on break-ins at Hero and Mojave Market, will report detectives’ progress at next meeting. List of stolen property, photos of tracks on each day’s briefing board, sent on cell phones. Surveillance video on both properties. -Four-wheel-drive vehicles becoming the standard equipment, replacing Crown Vics, less likely to get stuck. -For the same reason, many people ride the community dirt roads in or on OHVs and have been busted running errands or going to the mailbox. Deputies try to go by spirit of law, only stopping and talking to noise and dust violators who offend the neighbors. -Shooting at Giant Rock, would probably be broken up. Shooting maps are available, 2.00. Also on San Bernardino County website. Shotgun would be OK where centerfire weapons would not. -Agencies are able to communicate with other services. Fire Dept, CHP, have operable radio intercommunications system. In Emergency Call 9-1-1 Non-Emergency Call 760-245-4211 or 760-366-3781 or WE-TIP HOTLINE to SHERIFFS or CODE ENFORCEMENT 1-800-78-CRIME You may remain anonymous, tell the call taker. Your name will not be publicized on reports, etc. You may call back to cancel report if situation changes before response can be made. Location of incident will still be captured in database for reference. LUCERNE VALLEY’S ILLEGAL DUMPING ISSUE & COMMUNITY FEEDBACK For many years Lucerne Valley, as well as other High Desert locales, have been the dumping ground for unwanted discarded trash. This trash includes used tires, household wastes of all sorts, yard trimmings, toxic chemicals and substances, furniture, electronics and now biowastes. San Bernardino County issues “Dump Cards” to the property owners in the county that enable them to access the county’s transfer station, the old Lucerne Valley landfill site, which is located approximate 10 miles from the town center. Recently, there have been incidents observed that have required members of this community to call law enforcement. This has not been an effective way to remedy the problem. It seems that all law enforcement can do is show up and cite the land owners where the illegal dumping has occurred. For many years the community, with the help of the county and Burrtec Industries, has held community clean up days but the problem is far reaching than what a few times a year that these activities can help to accomplish. At the last Lucerne Valley – Johnson Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting, March 19th, the whole meeting was committed to this topic. Some very good ideas were brought up at the meeting that is outlined below. Also, David and Millie Rader and I had met with David Harp, Plant Manager of OMYA to discuss this problem and listen to Mr. Harp’s offer of some assistance in the matter. Millie Rader has been very proactive in this matter and has submitted the outlined comments below. We (the community) are asking for some help to maybe evaluate these suggestions to help Lucerne Valley mitigate this illegal dumping issue. Suggestions Outlined by Millie Rader: The ideas that have been brought forth so far in our effort to be proactive in solving the illegal dumping problem are as follows: 1. Relocate the San Bernardino County Transfer Station from Camprock road, to the center of town or nearby perhaps on the flood control easements that run from Crystal Creek Road above Foothill to below Rabbit Springs Road. A good portion of that easement was never used for flood control. 2. Omya Limestone Company, and Mitsubishi Cement Corporation are willing to partner with the County and Burrtec to provide dumpsters, and receive tires with the idea of locating them on private property such as the Lucerne Valley Market land on permanent basis. 3. Lucerne Valley Community Church youth group would like to hold monthly community trash clean ups and would be willing to have the bins located on their property at 10375 Ladera Rd, just east of Pioneer Park. They would man them and help people to offload their household trash. 4. Lucerne Valley Market owner, Linda Gommel, would also be willing to have Community Clean –ups based on that property. She has an employee willing to head it up. There are many in this community that is willing to help with a program that will intensify the cleanup efforts but citizen resources are little. The community is asking if the Third District Supervisor’s office can find a way to help with this effort. Summarized by Richard Selby, LV JV MAC Chairman, March 30, 2015 FIRE TAX TOWN HALL WITH ASSEMBLYMAN JAY OBERNOLTE April 11 at the Lucerne Valley Senior Center Attending from Johnson Valley: Ken and Helene Cash, C.V. and Pat Greene, Betty Munson, Court Prittie, Roger Taylor, Mert Waite Assemblyman Obernolte began the discussion saying, “I call it a tax, because it is a tax.” He said the Fire Prevention Fee legislation passed in the depths of the recession when California was running a huge budget deficit. One of the ways the legislature got more revenues was to charge for services people were already getting. The California Constitution requires a 2/3 majority to pass tax legislation. So the Legislature called this a fee, for direct service of direct benefit to the citizen, and only a 51% majority was needed to approve it. So anyone living in a State Responsibility Area (SRA) served by Calfire for fire prevention was now to be charged a fee for fire prevention. Immediately this was challenged as being unconstitutional. Obernolte listed three of the reasons: 1. We are being charged a retroactive fee for something the government was already providing. 2. Fire protection is a basic government service we pay taxes for, not an option, not an add-on. 3. The money collected for Calfire did go to Calfire, but the state’s budget for Calfire was reduced by an equal amount! Cause of action. It took time to put together cause of action for a legal challenge. The fee had to be instituted, a bill had to be sent out, a taxpayer had to protest the bill, and the Board of Equalization had to refuse to accept the protest. Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association (HJTA), then filed in the California courts against this illegal tax. A court decision is expected some time this year. An important hearing will be in June, HJTA seeking class action status for the lawsuit to ensure the state will refund all the money if the “fee” is judged to be unconstitutional. Pay under protest. Obernolte expressed little optimism that the class action status will be granted. He said therefore it is very important to pay the fee under protest. Do not fail to pay the bill – within 30 days of the date on the bill – or you face a 10% penalty plus interest and even stronger measures after that. Even if the tax is found to be illegal, that bill will not be invalidated retroactively. • Write “paid under protest” on the memo line on your check • File the Petition for Redetermination with the Board of Equalization, even if you have filed it before. It is on www.hjta.org, with instructions and preprinted protest. Although only one address appears at the bottom of the Petition for Redetermination, state law actually requires the protest be submitted to three different addresses within 30 days from the date on your bill. Linda Gommel of the Lucerne Valley Market & Hardware said the Petition for Redetermination protest packet will be available at the store for 50¢. Legislation co-authored by Obernolte to repeal the fee died in committee on a party line vote: all Democrats against repeal, all Republicans for repeal. This has happened every year. Another bill has been introduced stating, if a fee is ever found to be unconstitutional, that the state will, retroactively, refund all the money that they have collected. Obernolte’s Assembly Bill 203 seeks to double the amount of time for you to pay and protest, to 60 days from date on bill. This passed out of the Natural Resources Committee unanimously, with surprising bipartisan support. (Obernolte’s staff had sent out to every single Assemblyperson and Senator a map of their particular districts, color-coded to show the SRA’s, and asking, how many of your voters pay the fire fee?) AB 203 has an equal number of Democrat and Republican co-authors; it goes to the Appropriations Committee next. Recent good news, AB 203 is recommended for the consent calendar for the committee, which means it would not need a hearing but would be listed with all items considered noncontroversial. Obernolte feels it is a step in the right direction toward repealing the fee. Answers to questions about the Fire Tax included: • Maps of State Responsibility Areas are on the Board of Equalization website: http://boe.ca.gov/. Most of the state is in an SRA, rural, sparsely populated areas, with no County or incorporated municipal fire services. Many people in SRAs also pay for fire protection in their property taxes. • This tax does not directly fund the firemen’s pension plan. It is part of the Calfire budget, earmarked for fire prevention programs. Calfire did not want this, they are taking a lot of political heat and it is not their fault. Obernolte added to the list of reasons he says the “fee” is unconstitutional. If this were a regular tax passed by a 2/3 vote, it would appear on property tax bills. Because it is not, it is tasked to the Board of Equalization to collect it, with a parallel set of collection and enforcement mechanisms, just for this tax. So a substantial portion of the money collected, goes for the collection effort and separate accounting. The BOE is also against it. All five Board members supported Obernolte’s bill. George Runner, our BOE representative, came to him with the legislation to extend more time to pay and protest. • This can’t this deducted from your income tax bill because they called it a fee, not a tax. It is not paid to the Franchise Tax Board, it is paid to the Board of Equalization. The only thing legally deductible is ad valorem tax, on the appraised value of your property. • An estimated 150 million dollars is paid annually for the Fire Tax. It was $150 per dwelling, and increases indexed to inflation. It is discounted if you pay for local fire protection. This is an admission. If you are already paying for the service for which they are charging you, they are not going to charge you nothing, they are just going to charge you a little less. It was not the basis for the lawsuit because the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association decided the 2/3 versus 51% majority issue was the most likely to be the best constitutional challenge. • In areas like this one with no substantial wildfires, they justify this fee because it is for prevention, and they can argue it is working. But even if you think this is reasonable, what else will they start charging for? Should there be a surcharge, a crime prevention tax, for urban areas because of their higher crime rate? • There is supposed to be a payment plan available. Obernolte said, these are issues we can help you with, please call and we can call the BOE with any questions. George Runner on the BOE is an advocate for the taxpayers. Obernolte staff can refer you to Runner’s staff to help solve your problem. • The Board of Equalization is not equipped for this task, bills are sent out county by county in alphabetical order. • The state funds are adequate to pay refunds. Obernolte suggested the money should come from Cap and Trade. • SRA Boundary along Hwy 18 and 247 was probably drawn by the legislature back in the beginnings of Calfire. The same vegetation exists on both side of the highway. • What happens if you don’t pay? It is not a secured tax, no automatic lien on property. Unsecured debt goes with you personally, and they can take • It was made retroactive because the government can do what they want. The standard is not fairness, just legality. RESOURCES • Find if any address is in a State Responsibility Area at http://www.firepreventionfee.org/sraviewer_launch.php • Download appeal petition at http://www.calfirefee.com/appeal • Printed petition packets can be had at the Johnson Valley Community Center or the Lucerne Valley Market & Hardware for 50¢ each. • For fire tax help, Yvette Eddy can be reached at [email protected], or at the district office in Hesperia, 15900 Smoke Tree Street, Suite #125, Hesperia, CA 92345. Phone (760) 244-5277. • MOBILE FIELD OFFICE A representative from Assemblyman Obernolte’s office will be at the Lucerne Valley Senior Center on the first Tuesday of every other month, on the even months, starting June 2, 2:00-5:00 P.M. and at other locations. Other Big Issues in California Discussed at Town Hall • GASOLINE AND CAP AND TRADE Good news is we are no longer in the recession that caused the creation of the Fire Tax to make up lack of tax receipts. But, the bad news now is Cap and Trade. Starting in January, every gallon of gas has been charged an emissions tax, paid by the distiller, passed on to us at the pump, a hidden tax estimated now at between 7 and 17 cents per gallon. The oil producers already pay an Oil Extraction Tax. Our gas prices are so high because of the combination of Cap and Trade, Sales Tax, Road Tax and unique seasonal formulations causing big fluctuations in prices we cause ourselves to pay. The State of California has built up a very toxic business climate. Obernolte said the business climate is very different from when he started his business 25 years ago. The state has done this to ourselves. However changes in state law have impacted the character of the recently elected legislators, getting a more thoughtful serious breed of candidate. Moderation may make it possible to reverse the tide of the toxic business climate. WATER RATIONING In the recent water rationing order from Gov Brown, responsible agencies who have already cut their use substantially are being asked to cut a lot less, in an effort to be equitable. DRUG TESTING If we have mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients, a large percentage would fail. The question is, is the purpose of the welfare program a temporary crutch to help people get back on their feet, or, as the majority of voters feel, to improve poverty? THE WAIT FOR A DRIVERS LICENSE TEST You are not going to like the answer. Legalizing drivers licenses for undocumented aliens has caused twice as many applications to the DMV as projected. Make your appointment well in advance on the website. Don’t go stand in line. Our field office can help with this. Or with any govenment agency. Problems we can help with: If tax is owed, it must be paid, but we can help with red letters, fees and penalties if we can show just cause. When the government sends a letter saying money is owed, it needs to be addressed without delay. We can help with that. SHOULD WE BE MORE EDUCATED ABOUT OUR WATER SUPPLY? Absolutely. It is a very complicated topic. I am vice chair of the budget subcommittee that has to do with natural resources. Water infrastructure programs that come through the Assembly have to come through us. I am continuing to educate myself. As with welfare, there is a fundamental disagreement among Californians about how much priority should be given to water for environmental purposes, such as the Delta Smelt. We live in the desert therefore we have to conserve water, the people who live in cities feel we should be able to spare water for species like the Delta Smelt. Even if we do not agree, we need to foster this discussion to make sure we make good decisions for the future of our water policy. CHARGING FEES FOR PRIVATE WELLS? The discussion is about unregulated pumping of underground water. Your neighbor could pump too much water out of your aquifer ruining your well. The question is, how much should the state be regulating underground water? Last year the legislature passed a measure instituting the regulation of underground water. Some districts have never been regulated; Lucerne Valley is in an adjudicated district already overseen by a watermaster. California is the last western state to regulate underground water. No one wants the government in our private business, but no one wants a few bad actors to pump our aquifers dry. CAN PEOPLE COME ON PRIVATE PROPERTY TO MEASURE A WELL? No one from government should be able to come on private property without a warrant. If you are really concerned, put a fence around your property, with a locked gate, and post a No Trespassing sign. HAULED WATER The state has encouraged the County to discourage the use of hauled water; no permits for new building are issued if you rely on hauled water. Government should not be involved in picking winners and losers. It should not be involved in forcing you to drill a well instead of relying on hauled water. HOMESTEAD VALLEY COMMUNITY COUNCIL TREASURER’S REPORT APRIL 16, 2015 HVCC Checking Account BEGINNING BALANCE – 11/01/14..............................$2,567.31 INCOME: ..................................................................................0.00 TOTAL INCOME.....................................................................0.00 EXPENSES; TOTAL EXPENSES:.................................................................0.00 ENDING BALANCE CHECKING – 11/30/14 ...............$2,567.31 HVCC Savings Account BEGINNING BALANCE – 11/01/14 .............................$4,138.86 INCOME ...................................................................................0.00 INTEREST .............................................................................$ 0.12 ENDING BALANCE SAVINGS – 3/31/15.................... $4,139.01 Total HVCC Assets .................................................$6,706.32 CASH IN BANK: US BANK – CHECKING ................................................$2,567.31 US BANK – SAVINGS......................................................4,138.89 update from 11/14 add 12¢ interest ..............................4,139.01 TOTAL CASH IN BANK ACCOUNTS..........................$6,706.32 LEGEND: CK - CHECK DC - DEBIT CARD DEP - DEPOSIT EFT – ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER BETTY MUNSON TREASURER
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