County Notes & Stats

Our very, very busy Supervisors have posted an agenda for Tuesday, February 4, 2024 that is so devoid of substance that they may as well not meet. No action is proposed to be taken and no financial or revenue collection reports are listed.

Item 4a on the “regular agenda” is a generic placeholder for whichever department heads may choose to say something (or not — whatever), no specifics provided much less required. There’s a “discussion and possible action” of a new operations model for the County Museum and a review of a draft Community Action Plan for Redwood Valley that their own Planning Department says they don’t have time to staff and finish. 

The rest of the “regular agenda” is just inconsequential place holders. (CEO report (if done), Legislative Platform, Supervisors reports…

On the “We Don’t Much Care/Please Don’t Bother Us With This Crap” agenda, there’s the usual boilerplate of consent agenda items. One of the consent items is to raise the amount of money being handed over to the SF law firm of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore (LCW) from $850k to $900k. (LCW has already been hired for an initial $100k to handle the County’s defense in the lawsuit filed by abruptly fired Auditor-Treasurer Chamise Cubbison.) In the attached materials we read that “The County entered into a $50,000 Purchasing Agent Agreement with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore (LCW) for litigation services for ‘Grewal v. County of Mendocino’ on March 4, 2020. This lawsuit has been dismissed and this [additional] amount will cover final bills.” It’s not clear what that means. Harindar Grewal is Mendo’s former Ag Commissioner who sued the County for wrongful termination a few years ago. That case has been limping along ever since with delays and depositions and delays and filings and delays and changes of attorneys and delays. It’s possible that the dismissal is the result of a settlement. It’s also possible that Grewal lost his case. We will try to find out more about this case in the next few days. Whatever the result, the County and its liability insurance carrier is apparently out at least $900k in defending itself plus any settlement amount. Whatever the outcome, the Board is expected to rubberstamp the additional legal charges LCW wants.

There are a few of the usual “retroactive” rubberstamps totaling well over $8 million. Ho hum, what’s another million or two or eight here and there? (Previous boards have expressed disapproval of such retroactive consent agenda items, but staff has never stopped proposing them in ever-larger amounts knowing that the Supervisors don’t care about these items that effectively eliminate the Board’s role in financial matters since these board members can be relied on to say nothing as they casually pass these retroactive Consent Agenda items en masse without the slightest question or objection. 

In County conflict of interest news, we see that the Human Resources department is going to pay the Renne Public Law Group (SF) an additional $160k for “employer-employee relations services” on the consent agenda, despite the newly contracted-for Interim County Counsel being an employee of Renne Public Law Group.

There’s nothing on the agenda, regular or consent, about the controversial and unworkable relocation of the Veterans Service Office to the Public Health Building despite calls from veterans and their advocates that the move be reagendized. Nor is there anything about the long-delayed disbursement of millions in Measure P funds to the local emergency service organizations that the Board promised it to, although we heard Thursday that Supervisor Haschak says the first tranche will be delivered to the Fire Safe Council and the Fire Districts in the next week or two. Only a year late, assuming it actually occurs. (Local fire agencies better keep a close watch to see if the County withdraws or withholds any earlier existing funding for emergency services while pretending that they’re turning over the Measure P money they promised.)

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Crisis Van Stats, Only 102 calls all year.

How many of the County’s 102 Crisis Van Calls in the entire year of 2023 resulted in the person being declared 5150 (danger to self or others or incapable of providing for their own basic needs) by law enforcement or the crisis team? According to the Sheriff’s latest crisis van log for the year the answer is: 5. Again: Five, for the entire year. And 102/365 = less than one crisis call every three days.

Other stats for the entire year: 42 calls were declared “Check-in, no crisis.” 23 were declared “resolved on site.” 9 were “unable to locate.” And one (1) was “call resulted in arrest.” (A few others were referrals from other agencies with no action taken, a refusal, some hospitalizations and a few uncategorized juveniles. Most calls were from family members, although a few were from Redwood Community Services or mental health staff.

Which begs the question: Why does Mendocino County need a 16-bed Psychiatric Health Facility at a cost of well over $20 million — and soon? Yet, they spend not one dime on the mental health or substance abuse treatment services mandated by Measure B. Also, why does Mendo need a $40 million-plus jail expansion to house mental ill people who have committed crimes? (Mendo needs a new jail, yes, but for mentall ill inmates?) Mendo “borrowed” almost $10 million for the jail expansion overrun on the dubious grounds that it will house mental patients. Are Mendo’s spending priorities totally out of whack? These very low “crisis” numbers in the crisis van log contrast sharply with the very high expenditures for the low homeless counts. Basically, Mendo (like most other jurisdictions) spends millions on itself, administration, staff, architects, helpers and facilities for a relatively small population of clients. (And we haven’t even mentioned the $30 mil turned over annually to the Schraeders.)

Of course these stats are just a snapshot of the Mental Health picture; there are other ways for someone to find their way into a jail or psychiatric hold facility with mental health problems. But those other numbers, probably comparably low, are never provided, mainly because they are either conveniently “confidential,” or the Mental Health staff/contractor simply refuses to provide them in a meaningful manner. Could that be because we’re wasting most of that mental health money on them while not helping very many people?

James Marmon: Scaramella asks: “Why does Mendocino County need a 16-bed Psychiatric Health Facility at a cost of well over $20 million?” Because like others I know, they want to treat out of county mentally ill patients in order to bring in more revenue while looking like they really care about their own. It will do nothing to solve the local issues and deliver needed services for Mendo’s addicted and/or mentally ill. Lake County says “bring it on.”

Pam Partee: Good enough reason to reject and rescind the Whitmore Lane facility plan. We don’t need it, can’t afford it, can’t staff it, and don’t want the released patients added to those troubled and subsidized mental health patients already here. Mendocino obviously spends too much money on this needy, disruptive population.

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Farm Bureau Endorses Adam Gaska

Adam Gaska:

“Busy, busy the last few days. I am proud to announce that I have been endorsed by Mendocino County Farm Bureau! I have been a member for many years and represent MCFB on the Ukiah Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency. Agriculture has deep roots in our community and I am glad to be a part of a group that promotes and advocates for farmers. 

There will be more added in the near future.”

https://adamgaska.weebly.com/endorsements.html

(NOTE: In a somewhat schizophrenic mood, the Mendocino County Farm Bureau has endorsed both Adam Gaska and Madeline Cline. There may be a split in the membership. We don’t know. No explanation has been forthcoming.)

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Supervisor Candidate Contributors 

The biggest contributors to Trevor Mockel’s campaign for First District Supervisor are Minal Shankar (Ukiah entrepreneur who tried to buy/renovate the Palace Hotel) at $5,000; Janice Rich, at $1,000; County Superintendent of Schools Nicole Glentzer, his father Jim Mockel, and “Sprit Canyon LLC” (i.e., Glenn McGourty’s vineyard/winery) at $500 each. 

The biggest contributors to Adam Gaska’s campaign are Steven Bowne, Realtor ($1,000), Richard Rhodes of Rhodes Vineyards ($1500). Sattie Clark of Backbone Vineyard and Winery ($500). Eric Kaster of Eleek Inc ($500). Gaska reports 18 other donations between $50 and $300 each. 

By far the biggest fundraiser in the First District Race is Madeline Cline who reports having received about $42k. Her biggest contributors are Ukiah area wine growers, along with several dozen other smaller contributors.

Carrie Shattuck’s biggest contributors are West Coast Enterprises which looks like Shattuck’s own trucking business ($2.000), Andrea Vachon ($1,500), Susan Cummins ($1,000) and Wendy Caminiti ($500), plus a few others at $25 to $200 each.

In the Second District (Ukiah) Incumbent Maureen Mulheren reports just two contributors: Her father James Mulheren ($2,000) and one other for $100. 

Candidate Jacob BrowN reports just two contributors as well. Andrea Vachon, retired ($1,000), and Brown himself ($500). 

In the Fourth District (Fort Bragg area) Candidate Bernie Norvell reports one contributor, Cas Smith of North Coast Plumbing ($5,000).

(We could not find any campaign contribution filings for Fourth District candidate Georgina Avila-Gorman.)

(Mark Scaramella)