When the Town Crier started looking into what was going on with County Service Area (CSA) 38 advisory committee and its make-up, an email was sent Feb. 28 to Opal Hellweg, legislative assistant to Third District Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington, the entity responsible for appointing individuals to fill the seats on the CSA 38 advisory committee.
The email asked: “Who is the nominee for each of the categories below and when do their terms expire? I retrieved this information from the [county] website. Looking at the criteria, someone who lives in Moreno Valley could be a member of CSA 38, correct? Why is there a representative nominated from the volunteer fire department that no longer exists? Will that spot be eliminated, and if not, why?
The county’s website has this information posted:
“Member criteria:
“Qualifications for appointment: Members shall be at least eighteen (18) years of age and a resident of the County of Riverside.
“Term of office: Four (4) Years.
“Number of Appointees: Six (6) Members appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
Composition:
• One (1) member nominated by the Pine Cove County Water District;
• One (1) member nominated by the Pine Cove Property Owners Association;
• One (1) member nominated by the Pine Cove Volunteer Fire Department;
• Two (2) members and one (1) alternate member (effective 1/08) selected at large.”
The advisory committee was dissolved at the last Riverside County Supervisors meeting on April 21 citing: “ … since the Pine Cove Advisory Committee [CSA 38] was established in 1976, there have been significant changes in the services provided within County Service Area No. 38, most notable change being that the fire protection services in the area are no longer provided by a volunteer fire department; and whereas, the needs that existed when the Pine Cove Advisory Committee was established have since diminished considerably, thereby diminishing the need for the Pine Cove Advisory Committee.”
Now Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire provides fire protection and American Medical Response provides ambulance service for the Pine Cove area.
The Town Crier sent the above with the only received response from Hellweg after a follow-up email was sent on March 4: “I apologize for the delayed response. Actually, I am doing some research on the formation documents on CSA 38 and will connect back with you soon.”
The newspaper sent another follow-up email on April 24 and received the following response April 27: “Please see the attached Board of Supervisor’s documents regarding the dissolution of CSA 38 advisory committee.”
See last week’s front-page article, “CSA 38 advisory committee dissolved,” for more information.
