Idyllwild Fire Commissioner Pete Capparelli resigned his position at the conclusion of the Sept. 10 commission meeting.
“As of tomorrow [Sept. 11], I tender my resignation to step down from the commission,” he said.
Capparelli’s term would have ended the first week of December since he had chosen not to seek re-election. Commissioner Dr. Charles Schelly also did not seek re-election, maybe Commissioner-elects Rhonda Andrewson and Nancy Layton, who would assume their terms in December or someone else. President Jeannine Charles-Stigall was re-elected.
To his colleagues, he said that “a lot of good has happened” since he reluctantly joined the commission in 2009. He acknowledged that at that time there was considerable community “discontent and unhappiness with IFPD,” but many of the problems have improved.
Unfortunately, in his opinion, few Idyllwild residents attend the commission meetings to learn and to understand these changes. He also urged the community not to give up on the department. “If the district ever goes away, it will never come back. If it’s Cal Fire, you have to talk to supervisors in Riverside rather than someone here,” he warned.
Surprised at his resignation short of his term ending, Capparelli’s commission colleagues and Marge Muir, Pine Cove resident, all praised him for his service to the department and the community.
