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Caper Acres – four years later, nothing new

20 Mar

Closure of Chico’s Caper Acres is frustrating for city, parents

By LAURA URSENY-Staff Writer

POSTED:   07/31/2013 12:00:00 AM PDT

 
Conrad Nystrom of Chico celebrates Father’s Day with his sons Sam and Roman at Caper Acres in…
 

CHICO — The public and the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission weighed in this week on the budget-prompted closure of Caper Acres playground in lower Bidwell Park.Several parents spoke to the commission Monday voicing “disappointment” and “frustration” in the surprisingly quiet way the closure came about, without public input or brainstorming.

And commissioners themselves, still noting Chico’s budget woes, hoped to talk over the matter more. The fact that there was no Park Commission meeting in June, when budget strategies were discussed by the City Council, was a sore point.

Early in July, the city announced Caper Acres would only be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays because of staffing issues. A diminished city staff couldn’t handle cleaning bathrooms, mowing, safety repairs and other actions.

But last week, a local cleaning business called ServPro said it would take over other kinds of park maintenance for free so city staff could attend to the playground. It opened to a six-day operation Tuesday, with the traditional Monday closure continuing.

However, ServPro can only handle the free maintenance through Oct. 1, and a group of local volunteers has started to meet to figure out alternatives for keeping the playground open.

Mom Abigail Lopez, one of the organizers of Caper Acres Volunteers, said she hopes the city can embrace volunteers as do local organizations like the Humane Society.

From a meeting on Saturday that Lopez organized, other ideas surfaced, like a Bidwell Park summit to share ideas.

Acting Park Commission Chairman Richard Ober commended the volunteers on Monday, and asked the matter be placed on an upcoming agenda so “volunteers’ work could be supported.”

“I want to know why the Park Commission and public were not able to weigh in on the closure,” parent Liz Gardner told the commission. She also asked for budget specifics.

Later, Park and Natural Resources Manager Dan Efseaff said he had lost $500,000 from his budget, and has been exploring cutbacks, including ideas about abandoning lawns or pulling down old structures that need to be replaced. He emphasized that it was “an exercise” and not a plan.

“It’s not a pretty picture,” Efseaff said.

Chris Boshazy, representing Service Employees International Union, noted the work — especially tree work — still had to be done, and should be done by city employees, not private tree companies.

The city has set aside $100,000 for contract tree work.

“That $100,000 could hire back someone,” he told the commission. “This is city employee work.”

Boshazy also said the Park Commission had more power than it realizes, handing them copies of the municipal code and job duties.

“The last few months have been extremely frustrating, the way decisions were made and how cuts were made, and the lack of role of the community,” Ober said, asking for a discussion at a future meeting.

“We haven’t been asked as a community to dig deeper into our pockets,” Ober said.

Other topics that came up in regard to Caper Acres included a user tax, asking participants in large events in the park to donate a dollar to Caper Acres, and participating in the Annie Bs fundraising program.

Parents also wanted to find a way so that donations could go straight into a dedicated Caper Acres fund, rather than into the city’s General Fund.

Efseaff noted that Caper Acres has been on the Park Commission’s work plan for several years, with features desperately needing update and replacement.

Reach Laura Urseny at 896-7756, lurseny@chicoer.com, or on Twitter @LauraUrseny.

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CARD survey heavily led, questions close ended – when did 28 percent become “overwhelming support”?

17 Mar

I was surprised to find the CARD board meeting well-attended last night, but I think more people, including city staffers and commission members, were there to hear the discussion  about CARD taking park impact fees from developers. I went to hear the consultant’s report regarding the assessment survey.

Survey? 400 people in a town of over 80,000? I know – but let’s look  at it anyway.

The consultant also spoke of significantly leading respondents, even asking them to choose between pitches at one point.

DSC00215

Can you believe that? The callers actually read these to the respondents and asked them, which one of these pitches would make you want to tax yourself and your neighbors?

Of course, respondents were chosen by demographics – they called people who lived close to various parks, for example, and found those people would certainly support a tax!   

They also reported a very real confusion between CARD parks (ball  fields, playgrounds and neighborhood parks) and Bidwell Park, owned and maintained by the city of Chico.  I think they will try to play that confusion to their advantage. 

I will post more of the survey later.

Portland Loo?

13 Mar

Oh NO!  24 hour bathrooms being vandalized and used for shelter? 

http://www.chicoer.com/social-affairs/20170308/chico-city-plaza-24-hour-restrooms-being-trashed-vandalized-used-for-shelter?source=most_viewed

Katie Simmons says we need a new solution – Portland Loo? 

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sdut-portland-loo-remove-crime-cost-restroom-2016feb05-story.html

$100,000 for essentially the  same thing we already have.

The police chief complains resources are strained, he needs more officers. Where will they get the funding? How about Butte County Behavioral Health? 

BCBH director Dorian Kittrell told me the county gets $550 a day for each person they take in off the streets into one of their “beds” – a space at the Butte County Psychiatric Hospital, which he and others call “The Puff.” They are allowed to hold  these people with or without their permission for 45 days. You do the math. They could at least pay for the cop who led their cash cow into the barn. 

I don’t think Chico PD should be responsible for answering these calls, I think Kittrell and Brad Montgomery (Torres Shelter)  and Michael Madeiros (Stairways) should be responsible for going out to deal with people who claim they have no place to live.  These three all get salaries – Kittrell gets over $100,000/year – to deal with the mentally ill and homeless, why is Chico PD wasting time going on these calls? 

City of Chico park employees and public works department employees are often called on to deal with illegal  campers – these people should be also be engaged by BCBH and  those agencies such as Torres Shelter and Stairways. 

And then we should lock  Katie Simmons in a Portland Loo. In Portland. 

$28 million-plus in salaries and another $12 million-plus in pensions and benefits – why does our town look like SHIT?

5 Mar

The Enterprise Record, a propaganda rag that masquerades as a newspaper, ran the following op-ed the other day, as though it was a news story.

Caper Acres needs you

Renovation project a public, private partnership

By Dan Efseaff and Shane Romain

Humpty has not quite fallen, but Caper Acres needs to be put back together again. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men will not be enough, but the citizens of Chico will be able to, and we need your help.

About 60 years ago, members of the now Chico Women’s Club started hatching ideas for a children’s playground w ithin Bidwell Park. After 13 years of fundraising and construction, the efforts of the club with the support and generosity of the Chico community resulted in the official opening of Caper Acres.

Children walked through the castle-like entrance for the first time, the iconic fairy- tale themed playground transformed the world into a magical place where imaginations blossom. Generations of children have had that same experience over the years.

Caper Acres has lost some of the sparkle since its last remodel in the mid-’90s. Recent storms provided dramatic images of the destruction of the Crooked House, yet there’s been a steady crescendo as decayed and unsafe play structures are removed.

Now is the time to recapture that same community support and dedication to bring Caper Acres back to a place where children and their families can create lifetime memories. Your help is needed to make repairs and move forward with the renovation.

The city’s recent financial crisis and the loss of park staffing added to the challenges of the maintenance and critical upkeep of Bidwell Park. We must confront our aging infrastructure. The list is long: Roads, restrooms, trails, fencing and playground equipment that are either decades old or engineered for a smaller population are failing. While deferring maintenance can save money in the short term, the costs mount over time.

For example, our daily safety inspections and repairs of Caper Acres sometimes take hours each day, just to open the gates.

Updates to the park’s facilities will make them safer, more enjoyable, and more cost effective to maintain. The renewal also allows people of all abilities to enjoy this jewel. The new features will help capture the next generation’s imagination and prove to be practical from a cost and maintenance standpoint.

In 2013, the city Parks Division, Chico State University students, and local landscape architecture consultant Melton Design Group collected citizen input to improve Caper Acres, increase safety, and reduce maintenance costs. Public meetings with community members, interviews with teachers and students, moms and dads, citizens and staff, and most importantly, the children that enjoy Caper Acres, produced great ideas.

Multiple generations of Chicoans remember moments in the park presided by Humpty Dumpty and wanting to keep the dream of Caper Acres alive. The effort yielded a beautiful rendering of ideas in the Master Renovation Plan that the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission and City Council approved in 2014.

The renovation plan provides the broad concepts to improve drainage and landscaping, replaced damaged and impractical materials with low maintenance ones, add new features such as a zip line and a Monkey Face climbing structure, and much more.

While the city will provide some funding and staff to oversee the work, in reality the Caper Acres renovation is a community venture with broad support. The phase plan will help us match implementation needs with community resources that have been generously offered.

To make the plan a reality, we will rely on community donations. We have already begun some work. Over the last two years the Parks Division has been able to apply received donations toward the Caper Acres renovation. Those funds have been and are being utilized for a variety of items such as the repaired footings of the Bird Cage, added needed fall material, and removed the aged and hazardous Bunker Hill Mine.

How can you help with Caper Acres?

You can attend the Caper Acres Fantasy Fun Run on May 13. Join us for a volunteer day. Donate to the Parks Division. Buy a Caper Acres brick. Greet other park visitors and garner support. All of these types of efforts help us move forward.

As we embark on this journey, we will share milestones and provide opportunities for public input so that we can continue improving our efforts. We also report our progress to the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission. Interested citizens can get on our mailing list.

For more information and ideas on how you can get involved please email parkinfo@ chicoca. gov or call the parks office at 8967800. Dan Efseaff is the city’s parks and natural resource manager. Shane Romain is parks services coordinator.

I had to answer, so sent the following to the ER letters sections – the appropriate page for opinions such as the above.

According to publicpay.ca.gov, City of Chico Park and Natural Resources Director and Park Services Coordinator make  a combined $236,000 in total compensation.   That’s $118/hour, based on a 40 hour week, for two employees to tell us they don’t have enough money to maintain the park. (“Caper Acres Needs You”, 3/3/17) 

According to city Public Works Director Erik Gustafson, the Butte County “Alternative Custody Service” is available for $100 a day and has been used to clean restrooms, perform vegetation removal, and clear illegal encampments. I wonder why this program is not employed for clean-up and repair at Caper Acres. 

The Park Commission has discussed more citations for illegal camping and other violations, “which could add to the park revenue…” while deterring illegal activities.  In 2016, 444 “warnings” were issued to illegal campers, while only 76 were cited. City manager Mark Orme explained to me that “one of the reasons for the high number of warnings is that, in many cases, the occupant moves on and removes items…”  Gustafson told me the city believes these campers are protected by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, which pertain to a person’s rights within their home.  

 Welcome to Sanctuary City. 

Juanita Sumner, Chico? CA

I had a little trouble finding these positions on the public pay website because the titles were mis-spelled in the story – the database is spelling sensitive, you have to spell it exactly  right. Whoever was responsible for this story added an ‘s’ to “Park”, I had to drop the ‘s’ before the database would spit it out. Look for yourself, it’s a shocking read. Then look  at our town – does it look like a town that pays out $28 million plus in salaries, with another $12.5 in pensions and benefits?

With a payroll like that, we should be able to eat off the streets, instead, we can hardly drive on them! 

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“On the Waterfront” still rings true in many ways

16 Feb

Today I have a cold, so I am staying inside to watch movies on tv.  What luck – the old movies channel is playing “On the Waterfront” with Marlon Brando and Lee J. Cobb.

I know – it’s “just a movie” – but it tells the story of the unions and how they are corrupt by nature.  Based on a series of stories written by Malcolm Johnson for the New York Sun, OTWF dramatizes “the corruption and organized crime infiltration on the New York City waterfront… the inhumane treatment of longshoremen implicitly condoned by the unions, and the suspicious disappearance of anyone who spoke out against the system…”

As I sit at the keyboard I am listening to the “Johnny Friendly” character, played by Lee J. Cobb, explain to Marlon Brando’s “Terry” why his friend had to die,  how many people had died for the control of the waterfront jobs. As they speak around the pool table, Johnny is continually given reports of the thousands of dollars his minions have conscripted from the workers.

Later Karl Malden asks the workers why  they put up with the treatment from Friendly, ” what about your union?” The men cautiously tell the priest that anybody who raises any question about the treatment of the workers loses electricity in his apartment, “and then your lights go out..” “Name one place where it’s safe to talk without getting clobbered…” adds another man.

Did you know that in order to have a job with the Chico Police or Fire Department you are required to be to pay membership dues, whether or not you choose to be an actual member. You simply give up your right to vote in union matters, but you have to keep paying the dues that end up in campaign contributions at election time. The CPOA is routinely the biggest single donor in Chico elections.

This is a great movie, but here’s more information on the original stories:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/malcolm-johnson/on-the-waterfront/

The bums aren’t the only problem with Bidwell Park

6 Feb

I haven’t given up on Bidwell Park yet. I had to respond to a letter writer who complained to the Enterprise Record that the city was removing too much plant material from the park. David Little complains that he’s getting so many letters about Donald Trump, its taking him a week to post the average letter to the editor, so I’ll post it here:

On December 27 I contacted the city of Chico to report an extensive transient camp in lower Bidwell Park. City manager Mark Orme thanked me and assured me that the city would follow up “at this specific site”.  

Over the next month I continued to find and report illegal campers in the same area, watching city staff chase them from one spot another, piles of trash left behind that included bike parts. Some sites were scattered with city-provided plastic bags full  of fecal  matter, whether from dogs or humans I wouldn’t know.  

Massive stands of non-native berry vines are tunneled into, dead limbs are arranged to conceal the campsites. Some of them appear to have been used for years. They are kept just out of sight of main trails and the road by the intense tangle of non-native and  dead vegetation. 

After a frustrating month of reporting these sites,   I was relieved  to see city crews have removed enough vegetation so that  campsites will be visible from the road for Chico PD. 

The city must continue to remove non-native, overgrown and dead vegetation from Bidwell Park. It’s not just about the bums – our big oak trees are in trouble, being smothered out by invaders like Himalayan blackberry, English ivy, privet, and vinca.

Unfortunately the park is in serious trouble after these storms. On a bike ride yesterday I saw sections of the south road that are falling into the creek. Dead trees laying across the creek cause the water to spread out toward the road, undermining the pavement. 

The north park road is a big mess from not just car traffic  but the garbage trucks the city sends in once a week to empty the trash cans. The city crews used to go in with a pick-up truck, but the city says they save money by using Waste Management. Really? 

This is gross mismanagement. It started years ago  under a “liberal” majority, but continues full speed ahead with a “conservative” majority that spends all our budget on salaries and benefits, and tells us we must pay more if we want the type of services generally expected out of a city with a $100 million budget and management paid upwards of $200,000 a year with 88 – 91 percent of their benefits paid by the taxpayers. 

Silly us! We, ourselves, are to blame, we let this happen.  The longer we let it go on, the more we are to blame.

I’ll continue to take pictures and post them here, send them to ER Hot Shots, and maybe even to the city council. You do same.

Hello?

CARD staff to appropriate an additional $75,000 to fix rotten Cal Park Lakeside Pavilion roof

1 Feb

Chico Area Recreation District posted a cancellation notice of their January board meeting on their website:

The January 19, 2017 Regular Board Meeting has been cancelled.

The next Regular Board Meeting will be on February 16, 2017. 

But they didn’t mention a “special” board meeting scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon. They probably didn’t want us to know they’ve gone way over budget on the mammoth repair job they call “Lakeside Pavilion.”

They’re on the hook for over a million dollars for that building, which was riddled with rot and non-compliant with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act when they bought it. When I attended board meetings there, I found it a challenge to make it across the parking lot and into the building without tripping over buckled asphalt and cement. They said it would pay for itself with regular bookings for weddings, but that just didn’t happen. CARD director Ann Willmann told me they rented it to “Every Body Healthy Body” at a discount because they didn’t have any other bookings at the time. 

So, I will try to make it to their special meeting to find out why the roof repair has gone $75,000 over budget. Hope you can join us – that’s TODAY, at the CARD center on Vallombrosa Avenue, 3:30 pm.

Bidwell Park, once an asset, now a liability

26 Jan

Almost 15 years ago, my family bought this old crapper near Bidwell Park.  It had extensive rot, termite damage, needed a completely new roof – but, that was our business when we were young, buying old houses for cheap and working to make them into homes.

We went through all our permit inspections, and moved in. It was two years before the assessor came over to inspect – I believe he waited for the “McMansions” that had been permitted down the street to be built out, so he could use them in evaluating our house.

He showed up in my yard, with his clipboard. He asked to be let in the house, but I told him he’d have to come over when my husband was home – he was asking me technical questions I couldn’t answer, and some of the questions seemed inappropriate.

One thing he told me was that Bidwell Park would figure prominently in our assessment. Living so close to such a jewel was considered a great asset at that time. Oh yeah, Old Fred, he stuck us goooooood!

We have had a good life here, raising our kids in the house up front, and then moving into the little apartment we built over the garage since my husband retired and our kids moved off to their own homes. We have tenants up front now, raising their kids in the same house where we raised ours, how appropriate for us.

Unfortunately, nowadays, the park is neither a jewel nor an asset. I’ve spoken at length here about illegal camping, vandalism and theft in the Bidwell Park corridor. Well, here’s why – my family has invested everything we own in this part of town, and we’re watching our assets devalued every day by their association with Bidwell Park.

The other day one of my tenants who also lives within this neighborhood asked us to put up more security lights in her driveway. These lights aren’t free, the cheapest crap on the market is about $30, and we have to maintain them, including provide batteries.

But I don’t blame her, she’s only a  couple of blocks from the CARD center, where a young woman overdosed herself on heroin the other night. She’s only a couple of blocks from Mangrove Plaza, a transient hot spot.  There have been car break-ins within doors of her house. One of her near neighbors just dramatically pruned a row of shrubs because transients were using his hedgerow, right outside his front windows,  for a toilet.

To think, when I’ve advertised that rental, I’ve used Bidwell Park, Mangrove Plaza, and the Downtown area as selling points. Now I don’t know what to say – “15 minute walk to Bum Town!”

So I’ve tried to do what good citizens are supposed to do – I’ve reported the same stuff I’ve been posting on this blog to Chico PD, who sent me to the public works department. I was told I was a good citizen and my reports of crime are appreciated, but that’s where it stopped. Now I find the system is set up to encourage camping in the park. This old post by local blogger Jack Lee just about sums it up:

http://www.norcalblogs.com/postscripts/2014/04/01/camp-sites-okd-bidwell-park/

Here’s what happens when you report illegal campsites in Bidwell Park:

Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 8:43 AM
To: Mark Orme <mark.orme@Chicoca.gov>
Cc: dlittle@chicoer.com; Maureen Kirk <mkirk@buttecounty.net>; Mark Sorensen <mark.sorensen@Chicoca.gov>
Subject: illegal campers in lower park

 

 Hi,  Yesterday  I reported an extensive and well-established illegal camp located along the “Fitness Trail”, between Stations 3 and  4 and the park road, to a park division employee. She told me she would alert park rangers. I saw five tents, an e-z-up, and mounds of trash.  As of this morning, it’s all still there, and there’s more trash. Is the city actively pursuing citizen’s complaints about illegal  camping? 

 Juanita Sumner

 

From: Mark Orme <mark.orme@Chicoca.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 9:58 AM
To: Juanita Sumner
Cc: dlittle@chicoer.com; Maureen Kirk; Mark Sorensen
Subject: RE: illegal campers in lower park

 

Ms. Sumner,    Again, thank you for your reporting of this.   As additional follow-up, I can tell you that the Park Rangers did engage with this group yesterday, after the report was received.   Additionally, the Rangers have engaged and ticketed this group of illegal campers several times over the past week.  The Park Rangers are coordinating with the Police Department for follow-up today for this specific illegal encampment.  

Respectfully,
Mark

 

Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2017 4:24 PM
To: Mark Orme <mark.orme@Chicoca.gov>
Cc: dlittle@chicoer.com; Maureen Kirk <mkirk@buttecounty.net>; Mark Sorensen <mark.sorensen@Chicoca.gov>
Subject: Thanks

 

Hi Mr. Orme,   When we went to Bidwell Park this morning  to inspect the illegal campsites we reported to you last week, we were happy to see the trash piles we’d encountered the past few days had been collected. Thank you for your quick action on this illegal campsite, I believe a quick response is necessary to discourage repeat offenders. We walk in that area and other areas of the park every day and will continue to notify you of any illegal activities we see anywhere on city property.

 Thank you for your due diligence to this matter, which is, of course, central to keeping Chico a beautiful city.

 Juanita Sumner

From: Mark Orme <mark.orme@Chicoca.gov>
Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2017 7:55 PM
To: Juanita Sumner
Cc: dlittle@chicoer.com; Maureen Kirk; Mark Sorensen
Subject: RE: Thanks

 

Thank you for your follow-up Ms. Sumner.   Much of the credit goes to City staff for their effective approach.  However, the best means of allowing staff to succeed is for aware and willing residents to inform the City of these types of issues – so many thanks to you. 

 Have a good evening,

Mark

Sent:Wednesday, January 18, 2017 6:33 AM
To: Mark Orme <mark.orme@Chicoca.gov>
Cc: Mark Sorensen <mark.sorensen@Chicoca.gov>; Maureen Kirk <mkirk@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Re: Thanks

Hi,    Yesterday morning walking in Bidwell Park, my husband found a group in a tent, right on the main trail there near Bryant and Vallombrosa. As he stood on the trail taking a picture a woman confronted him. He told her he’d be calling the police – when he came back that way the tent and occupants were gone. I do have pictures of the tent  posted on my blog.   I’m beginning to question the safety of walking in Bidwell Park in broad daylight. We live only about two blocks away. My tenants constantly worry about their car being broken into since our neighbors had a break-in across the street. My son who lives at another one of our rentals nearby had someone break into his car to rifle his glove compartment, and then use the car as a block while they defecated in the driveway off my son’s front door.  His neighbor, a retired law enforcement officer and former director of Torres Shelter, had her car broken into several months ago – window smashed out.  We believe the park is central to these problems, that these people are sheltering in the park and then predating our neighborhoods. 

  I know you guys discussed more staffing at Chico PD last night – when can we expect regular, morning and evening sweeps of the park?

 Thanks, at your convenience, for your reply – Juanita Sumner

LATER that day…

Ms. Sumner,

 Thank you again for your input.  I’ve cc’d the Police Chief and Public Works Director over Operations on this e-mail, as they may have additional feedback to give.  I can tell you that staff is evaluating every opportunity to move forward with an effort to deal with this situation more aggressively.  One potential program we are working on is furthering the bond between our public works team and the Police department.  They already have a great working relationship, but we’re looking at a creative approach to securing an even smoother ability to deal with these park issues.  It will roll out during the budget process.  As for now, the Police Department and Public Works will continue to monitor and conduct sweeps on a regular basis…although not as often as staff would like to be able to do, simply due to resource constraints. 

Have a great day,

Mark

Here’s where Police Chief Mike O’Brien and Officer Scott Zuchin came into the conversation. O’Brien contacted me on January 18.

“Both the Rangers and our Police Officers move campers out of the Park, but it is helpful to have the specifics as to when and where.  I am including Interim Lieutenant Scott Zuschin in this email and would ask that you reach out to him specifically with the specifics of the camping sites.  I/Lt. Zuschin oversees our Target Team, as well as coordinating with our Rangers in dealing with issues in our city parks.  I will have him coordinate to address these issues.”

The conversation went completely off track at that point because I had cc’d Third District Supervisor Maureen Kirk, and she brought up concerns about her own neighborhood, Cal Park. I casually mentioned to her that I’d seen a tent off Hwy 32 near Cal Park. That got Zuchin off on the wrong track from the get-go. Zuchin responded to Kirk’s concerns, 

“Greetings… The Target team linked up with realtor Tamara Lambert-Valencia from Coldwell Banker DuFour to address the encampment issue near the water tower located inside the new Oak Valley subdivision two weeks ago. This camp is no longer an issue. Target will continue to work with the realtor and developer as crime and safety issues arise. Please give me a call. I can arrange a neighborhood meeting with the Target team to discuss your questions and concerns.”

I was stupid enough to argue with a cop – I had to tell him I’d just seen the dam-ned tent the previous day. At this point I started to detect a little impatience on his part.

Please be more specific then. We may not be speaking about the same location. You may attach photographs to your email if that helps.

I responded with clear directions to the tent, which was set up next to a little creek running alongside the new water tower and subdivision below it. I didn’t get any follow-up. When I sent him photos of a homeless encampment in Bidwell Park the next day, I didn’t get any response.  I realize it was Saturday.   I had complained to O’Brien that there is no way to report illegal camping online, and we’re told the phone is for emergencies, so he gave me Zuchin, who’s only available Monday through Friday 9 – 5. 

So I forwarded that request to Mark Orme the following Monday, asking for follow-up. I told him the campers were still there as of that morning. This was January 23. Orme did not respond to me personally but forwarded my request to Public Works staffer Erik Gustafson.

“Copy, I’ll forward to Rangers right away and have them connect with Sgt. Zuschin for notification status.  Thanks, Erik”

Later on Monday I heard from O’Brien.

“We are looking at Wednesday to have this resolved…PD and Parks are in contact to make it happen.”

By Tuesday, my husband had already noticed, the transients had moved their tents, leaving mounds of trash, including bike parts. I got another note from Gustafson,

“Good Morning.  Wanted to let you know that notice was posted at this particular location yesterday 1/24.  Per our notification terms, they have 48-hours to remove themselves and their property.  If cleanup is needed it will take place on Thursday 1/26.  This location will be included with several others and will be managed by a City Park Ranger, but performed by the inmate Alternative Custody Services (ACS) program.”

48 hours notice? I asked about that.

Thanks for the update.  I read the city code, camping without a permit is illegal. Could you give me a simple explanation, why we have to give these people 48 hours to vacate, especially when there is evidence of criminal activity, like bicycle parts laying all over the ground?  I would appreciate it if you could direct me to the written laws that cover this.

 Gustafson explained, “Good Morning.  The 48-hour notice is used for un-occupied encampments and is intended to give a short amount of time for folks to collect and remove their personal property.  It’s an internal policy based on City Attorney recommendation.  The City Attorney reviewed several cases that had been brought against larger Cities and recommended the notice term.  The term is intended to remove items in a timely fashion while still observing the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. “

Here’s the Fourth amendment:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Could anybody explain to me how the above protects someone from being ejected from an illegal campsite? Where does it say you can’t give somebody a ticket for an illegal activity? I’m not a lawyer, but I would say a ticket is proof of probable cause, and notification that your stuff is going to be seized if you refuse to leave or remove your belongings. In fact, the city could put signs up in these areas, saying that camping is illegal and personal belongings left on the premises will be seized and held for 30 days. That would cover the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Instead they warn these people again and again, cops pretending they don’t recognize the same person they warned for the same offense as little as eight hours previous.

Of course, this rule doesn’t seem to affect clean-up of abandoned sites. Look at some of the pictures I’ve posted – how do you decide, what’s trash, and what’s personal belongings? This all seems very discretionary to me.

Here’s the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1, which was the only section that applied even remotely to this situation: 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Yes, it goes back to due process.  The essential problem here is that the city does not have “No Camping” signs or signs which explain the penalties of the ordinance. As far as I know, the city has no penalties for public camping, public defecation/urination, nudity, drug use on city property – none of it. 

In other words, Bidwell Park is open for camping. It’s a de-facto bum camp and they aren’t going to do anything about it.

When I get up the nerve, I’ll contact the assessor’s office and ask them when they will start giving exemptions for properties within close proximity to Bidwell Park.

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Bidwell Park and Playground Commission aware of “transients dismantling bicycles and other unsavory activities…” but what have they done about it?

25 Jan

I found this three year old report from the Bidwell  Park and Playground Commission,

Click to access BPPC_AgendaandReports_13_1028.pdf

In 2013, rangers reported 98 “warnings” for illegal camping in the park but only 54 citations.  The first thing I hear is, the rangers aren’t looking hard enough, or they’d have at least 365 warnings. The second thing that occurs to me is, why so few citations? And, I have to ask – what happens with a citation?

So I wondered if the commission is still hearing these reports. I looked at their website here

http://www.ci.chico.ca.us/government/minutes_agendas/bidwell_park_playground_commission.asp

and looked over agendas and minutes of recent meetings. I found they’d just had a short conversation about it at their October 24 meeting.

Butte County Homeless survey. Commissioner Reddemenn asked how the Park Rangers are dealing with the transients in the park dismantling bikes and other unsavory activities. [Staffer Dan] Efseaff replied we are getting more cooperation from PD and are trying to focus on area and look at our approaches. Reddemann asked what to do if she witnessed possible criminal behavior. Efseaff; call PD.

I will write a note to the commission and ask them what’s being done about the entrenched encampments in my neighborhood stretch of Bidwell Park. I think what the city needs to do is get bulldozers in there to clear out non-native, overgrown, and dead vegetation. And that’s just a start. 

The park looks like a hobo camp, therefore it has become a hobo camp.

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Questions for our county supervisor: Butte County Behavioral Health gets $61 million a year in “Revenue Transfers” – is that the money they get for taking crazy people from other counties?

20 Jan

I’ve been chatting with Chico PD and my third district supervisor Maureen Kirk about transients, illegal camping, and crime in our neighborhoods. When I read that city council had just agreed to more money and more staffing for Chico PD – even when our city manager tells me our “resources” are “constrained” –  I had to ask, does this mean more cops in Bidwell Park to rout the illegal campers? 

O’brien responded, “Both the Rangers and our Police Officers move campers out of the Park, but it is helpful to have the specifics as to when and where.  I am including Interim Lieutenant Scott Zuschin in this email and would ask that you reach out to him specifically with the specifics of the camping sites.”

What do you hear – I hear “No!” I also hear, “we will continue to expect you to do our job…”

When Kirk chimed in to complain about crime in her Cal Park neighborhood, I told her I’d just seen a tent encampment along that little creek that runs adjacent to Hwy 32 east, in that new Oak Valley subdivision.  I just saw the little tent again yesterday, just below the new Cal Water tower.

I also told Kirk I believe Butte County Behavioral Health is behind this problem, because they bring transients here from other counties, selling “beds”, as BH director Dorian Kittrell  calls spaces at the psychiatric facility, known officially as “The Puff”.  Kittrell told me the county  gets $550 a day for housing a patient. The county passed an ordinance last year allowing BH to place people on a 45-day involuntary hold. At $550 a day, that’s $22,500 for each person, for a month and a half of cooling their heels at The Puff.

Here’s one man’s story, about how he was 5150’d in the town he’d lived for 30 years, and then ended up at the Torres Shelter by way of shelters in Yuba City and Oroville. 

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/searching-for-snipes/content?oid=9361141

When I shared this story with Kirk she  responded, “I don’t agree with your conclusion that we are bringing people into Butte County for financial gain. It seems that the author of the article brought himself to Butte County.”

Does Kirk even understand what a 5150 is?  This woman’s refusal and denial are a huge part of the problem. I told her I’d look at the county budget and get back to her. Here’s the adopted 2016-17 budget:

http://www.buttecounty.net/administration/CountyBudget/FY16-17AdoptedBudget.aspx

You can skip to Behavioral Health through the table of contents:

http://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/1/Budget/FY16-17Adopted/13-BH.pdf

This budget is not written for the public to understand, but I did learn some stuff.  One phrase I kept seeing again and again was “Intergovernmental Revenue”, another was “Revenue Transfer.” I suspect this is the funding received with these patients that travel from county to county like a plague – they bring funding, funding to pay salaries and benefits.

Here’s a report that explains things in more human terms:

https://www.buttecounty.net/Portals/1/FY15-16RecommendedBudget/Behavioral_Health.pdf

There you see, according to BH director Dorian Kittrell, $61 million a year in transfers. I forwarded this information to Kirk and asked her for an explanation. We’ll see if she gets back to me, I think she’s a little pissed off right now.

As for the little tent along Hwy 32, Chief O’Brien forwarded my concerns to Public Relations Officer Zuchin, and he responded:

“The Target team linked up with realtor Tamara Lambert-Valencia from Coldwell Banker DuFour to address the encampment issue near the water tower located inside the new Oak Valley subdivision two weeks ago. This camp is no longer an issue.”

Really? It was still there yesterday, rain fly  a flappin’, bicycles with carts piled up next to the  tent, a well-worn  path off Humboldt Road. Well see if it stands through this dumper, but I don’t  think the cops  are going to do anything about it. That area has been a homeless camp for years. 

Hey Maureen,  keep your garage locked!

UPDATE:  Kirk responded with an e-mail from Behavioral Health Director Dorian Kittrell:

Hi Maureen

The overall budget is approximately 61 million dollars.  This total comprises the county general fund contribution of roughly $280,000 dollars which gives the county access to state and federal funding via state sales tax revenues and vehicle license fees.  The dollars (also known as “realignment revenue”) is spent on treatment which includes outpatient and inpatient services.  In spending these dollars we are able to receive federal (medi-cal) reimbursement (anywhere from  50% to 95% of the cost of treatment)  We estimate each year how much reimbursement we will expect to receive based on previous years claims for medi-cal that we received.    When all these at totaled we project the total budget.  Of course, this explanation is a broad overview.  There are also some grant dollars and other funding streams (for example MHSA tax dollars) that add to the total.   I am happy to sit down with Juanita and my finance person if she would like further clarification.

So, “intergovernmental revenues” refers to any dollars that come from local, state or federal government sources.

Call me if you have any questions!

Dorian

I realize Kittrell’s response is in heavy Bureaucratese, but really, read it – that’s just what I told Kirk in the first place. In fact, it looks like they get all but $280,000 of their BH budget from those transfers.  Does Kirk understand it? Then why did she have to ask Kitrell to explain it?

Maureen, you need to start making plans for that Del Webb  Leisure Village you were talking about. 

 

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