By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
Water may be getting scarce in Glenn County, but there is a flood of water controversy in Elk Creek.
The Elk Creek Community Facebook page includes a post of an upcoming ECCSD meeting agenda, and two posts of revised agendas. All three posts are from Jamie Hunt.
Above the original agenda, at 7:49 a.m. on Friday, June 4, she posted, “This is the presentation for the possible rate increase. Please come and join.”
The original agenda itself stated:
Notice of Prop. 218 meeting
Elk Creek Community Services District
Thursday June 7th, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.
Location Elk Creek Fire Hall
Further down, the agenda says, “This agenda has been prepared and posted at least 72 hours prior to the regular meeting of the board of directors.”
Item 5 on the agenda is, “Presentation of possible rate increase.”
Sunshine Rae Kelly responded, “So what happened to the meeting and presentation being at the High School gym?”
She then posted a screen shot of a previous announcement. It read:
“A public hearing is scheduled for June 7, 2021 at the Elk Creek High School gym. The time is 6 p.m. Our speaker will be in person. We do have to follow Covid 19 guidelines with masks required and six feet distancing.”
Kelly added, “Now only 6 people will be able to attend? Remember you have to count the signatures you already received on this rate increase. Just because you canceled the first presentation doesn’t void the people’s vote.”
After promising to fix the agenda, Jamie Hunt wrote, “Speaking with sara we cannot count the previous votes for this increase. New protests must be done.”
This information was apparently given out to the residents of Elk Creek no more than 82 hours before the scheduled meeting, obviously not giving opponents of the rate increase enough time to gather new signatures. Prior to the canceled meeting referred to above, opponents say the signatures of over half of the residents of Elk Creek indicated disapproval of the proposed rate increase.
Sunshine Kelly asked, “Who is Sara?”
Jamie Hunt answered, “Sara Bixler is the woman who did the rate study.”
Sunshine Rae Kelly responded, “This is the first time that we have heard the speaker’s name. Please make Sara Bixler’s contact info public. Thank you!”
Hunt said, “She is coming so the community can speak with her after the presentation.”
Kelly asked, “Will the community get to vote after the presentation?”
Hunt replied, “It still must be by letter.”
Kelly inquired, “Before the meeting or after?”
Hunt explained, “We will take the protest letters till the end of the day of the meeting. You may listen to the presentation, then if you still are not in agreeance [sic], turn it in after the presentation is over.”
Near the end of this thread, former board member Ricky Saunders posted contact information that he found online regarding Sarah Bixler:
Sarah Bixler
916-926-1468
The revised agenda, posted at 8:56 a.m. on Friday, June 4, states:
Notice of Prop. 218 meeting
Elk Creek Community Services District
Thursday June 7th, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.
Location Elk Creek high school
Note that the time and location for the meeting have been changed, but the incompatible day and date have not been corrected.
The new agenda then stated, “This meeting will have a live presentation from Sara Bixler to explain the possible rate increases.”
Item 5 on the agenda is still “Presentation of possible rate increase”
Jamie Hunt wrote, “I apologize for all of the problems that needed to be fixed. Here is a revised agenda.”
She added, “Also all may attend. We are doing this at the gym to accommodate the community.”
Sunshine Rae Kelly addressed Jamie Hunt, “Please change the wording to include that everyone may attend, and take out the Newsom Executive Order N-25-20 when you post this agenda at the Post Office, otherwise people won’t attend. Thank you, Jamie Hunt.”
Kelly then asked, “Is the speaker still attending?”
Jamie Hunt answered, “Yes she is.”
At 4:04 p.m. on Friday, June 4, Elk Creek Community Service District Board member Sharon Green posted:
I am not so good with Facebook but I wanted everyone to understand the date and time for the prop 218 meeting and the proposed water rate increase.
Monday June 7,2021 6 p.m. at the Elk Creek High School Gymnasium.
I spoke with Sarah Bixler today and she is ok being contacted by any community members about the rate study that she is going to present on Monday.
I will have Jamie do a revised agenda this weekend with the information correct. She is unavailable this afternoon but when she returns we will get it out.
I apologize for the inconvenience.
Thank you!
Sharon Green
It should be noted that Green realized that June 7 was a Monday, not a Thursday.
Just four minutes before this post from Green, Sunshine Rae Kelly made this lengthy statement:
Dear Elk Creek Community,
Due to lack of transparency from our ECCSD let me explain why we are getting a rate increase for a loan for a settling tank we don’t need.
The Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is currently a T3 plant because the State Primacy Agency in 2014 changed the Operations Permit that the Lead Operator use Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) to oxidize the iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn) in the water so that the filters can filter out the Fe and Mn.
A T3 Plant is required to have a T3 operator.
There are three types of Mn and Fe: Soluble, Insoluble and Slimes.
Soluble means in solution, it is invisible and unable to be filtered out. The water looks clear.
Insoluble is something that is incapable of being dissolved, and is filterable. The water has color to it.
Slimes are organic, and y strainers are used to remove them.
KMnO4 causes the Fe and Mn in solution to oxidize and become filterable.
The State also recommended in the Sanitary Survey that the Lead Operator add a flash mixer to the influent raw water right after the polymer is added to the water, which would allow for faster mixing of the treatment chemicals allowing insolubles to floc together and be filtered out.
Putting in the flash mixer would also allow the operator to slow the influent to the filters so that they could filter out all the insolubles.
Currently the Operator uses the influent flow of water to mix the polymer and therefore can not slow down the flow which would give the filters the chance to filter out the insoluble metals; Fe and Mn, If he were to use the KMnO4.
The current lead Operator does not approve of the use of KMnO4. He claims it is poison and there is no fact to that in water treatment. The worst it can do is turn the water pink if overdosed.
Chlorine (Cl2) is also an oxidizer, so currently the soluble Fe and Mn gets through the filtration process, then gets oxidized during chemical disinfection. So then the Fe and Mn become visible in our water and that is why our water looks the way it does, browns, oranges and blacks.
Also the increased use of Cl2 creates high levels of TTHM’s which are cancer causing agents that build up in dead end lines.
KMnO4 does not create TTHM’s.
So why a settling tank?
The current Lead Operator is a T2, not a T3.
Having a settling tank would supposedly mean that the Lead Operator would not have to use KMnO4 to oxidize the Mn and Fe, turning the WTP qualifications from a T3 to a T2.
Though the ECCSD has hired a T3 for $$$ a month just to sign off on the WTP monthly reports. The T3 does not report to the plant and the ECCSD Board does not ask him questions regarding their WTP.
The problem with the settling tank is that you will still need pre-chemical treatment to oxidize the Fe and Mn so that it can settle out.
So be it Cl2 or KMnO4 a chemical oxidizer is needed either way.
So why cause the community to pay more for water that the current lead operator refuses to treat correctly now with little or no cost to the community?
So the current lead Operator can have the Title of Chief Operator, the plant will be a T2 plant and he never has to take the T3 exam. Though he has told the State Primacy agency for the past 7 years he would take the T3 exam.
Instead we are being forced to pay more for a settling tank that still won’t solve our problems because you still need an operator to run the plant and do the right things and use pre-chemical treatment to oxidize the Fe and Mn.
As you may not be aware of, we have at least 45 days to protest, so we actually have more time than this supposed deadline the ECCSD is giving us, and they do plan on voting on Monday to pass this increase.
Though the ECCSD board told us it was postponed in December due to Covid, they told Sarah Bixler, who is doing the rate study increase that it was due to 50 percent of the community voting no to the rate increase.
So the ECCSD did a new study without explaining this to the community so all of our votes are invalid when we were under the impression all of this was postponed, not restarted and our votes should still count.
And those of you who do not pay a ECCSD water bill for domestic use, your comments are void.
Thank you for your time.
[Note: All bolds in the above letter to the community are by the editor, not the author.]
ECCSD board member Sharon Green responded to the Kelly letter, “FYI Arnie [Kjer, manager of the water treatment plant] passed his T3 test. Also the settling tank was recommended by the state.”
Kelly, ever the skeptic, replied, “Can you prove he passed the T3? Saying you are a T3 when you are not would be unlawful. The State website says he is still a T2.”
And she posted a screenshot of the relevant part of the State website.
Green said she “saw the paperwork.”
Still skeptical, Sunshine Kelly pointed out, “That would be hearsay, not proof.”
As for Green’s claim regarding the settling tank, Kelly wrote, “The State required the use of KMnO4, and a T3 operator many years ago. The settling tank is new and still won’t get all the insoluble metals out of the water.”
Rick Jonhson commented, “Being a lifelong citizen of Elk Creek, I can’t tell anymore who is right and who is wrong. Very confusing to all the residents who live in this fine town! I personally ran the water plant for four years in the 70’s and there [were] never any problems like this. I am sad for our little community. JUST GET IT RIGHT GUYS!”
He then added, “Thank you, Sunshine. You did a fabulous job getting the facts out on the table for our community to read!”
However, Sunshine Rae Kelly was not done providing her community with information. At 7:18 p.m. on Sunday, June 6, she posted:
“Here are the facts: The ECCSD only sent out one page of info from the 45-page Elk Creek Rate Study Report to the Community, when in fact there are 5 pages that explain the Rate Calculation and what your proposed water bill will look like.
“Here are those five pages for you to look at, and for those of you who have blocked me, and cannot get the facts….
“If you would like the entire 45-page rate study, email me at aquamomh2o@gmail.com and I will email it to you.
“Thank you, Sarah Bixler, for your community outreach, even if it was only just this past Friday.”
Kelly included screenshots of all five relevant pages.
Rick Jonhson responded, “Thank you, Sunshine, for the significant update. Thank you so much for the real information! Can’t seem to get the real deal anywhere else. Thanks to you and all the time and community concern you have for our little town.”
Mike Whitney also expressed his appreciation. “Thanks, Sunshine, for keeping up the fight.”
Chonne Murphy pointed out, “With the proposed rate hike, if the cemetery uses the same amount of water, the bill would go from $540 a month to $960. There will be no way we would be able to afford it.”
On Friday, June 4, Sunshine Rae Kelly also contacted Sarah Bixler, and received the following reply late the same morning:
Hi Sunshine,
I have shared my concerns for this upcoming meeting with the board via email, and the lack of transparency regarding the rate study. I have attached the most recent rate report that was approved by the board for your reference. Upon looking at the website, it seems this was never made public to the community. This information should have been made public since March.
Regarding your concerns about the protests: It has been quite some time since the community protested the rates so I dug back through my correspondence with Paul Poston, who was my main contact in 2020 regarding the rate study. I see that the protests were coming in December of 2020.
I made it clear to him each protest must:
* be in writing
* be received by the final meeting date
* include APN or address
* state that you protest the new water or sewer rates
* include Signature
* One protest vote per property (renter or owner)
Even if this protesting was done correctly, the rates did change between December and March. Which is why the December meeting was tabled, to re-evaluate the rates. So the district was given another chance to protest the newer rates since April 20th.
The 45 [day] protest period is a minimum, and I have suggested the Monday board meeting be pushed back. I have yet to discuss everything with the board president over the phone and hope you and I have more clarity soon on the status of Monday’s meeting.
Thank you,
Sarah Bixler
RCAC/Community & Environmental Services
[Note: The bolded sentence in the above letter was by the editor, not the author.]
Sunshine Rae Kelly commented on the letter from Bixler:
“Due to lack of transparency Sarah Bixler asked that this meeting be postponed, as the ECCSD is to vote this rate increase in tomorrow.
“Sarah Bixler states in the email below that the community was never given the Rate Study, ‘UPON LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE, IT SEEMS THIS WAS NEVER MADE PUBLIC TO THE COMMUNITY’.
“We have at LEAST 45 days, so we could be given more time to protest, but the ECCSD will not do the right thing and give us more time.
NO NEED TO RUSH THIS THROUGH!
“What is the Rush?
“I mean really it took them over 48 hours of their 72-hour posting time limit to get the agenda correct for the meeting!”
Ricky Saunders also contacted Bixler. He reported, “I had a talk with Sarah as well. I’m concerned after talking with her. From what I gathered there will be a decision on the rate increase at tomorrow’s meeting. I was informed that everyone’s protest letters are no longer valid and any new letters need to be submitted by tomorrow before 1 p.m. I’m just curious if anyone was notified of that.”
Sunshine Kelly replied, “I am beside myself. I was under the impression the December meeting to educate the community on this rate increase was postponed because of Covid, then the ECCSD went behind our backs, with no transparency, no revealing of meeting minutes of what they were doing; creating a new rate study, which is barely different than the first. I am currently out of town, dealing with family issues and will not be able to recreate my protest letter. This is absurd. My protest letter is valid and should be counted.”
On Sunday, June 6, at 8:02 a.m., Jamie Hunt posted yet another revised agenda.
This one included the correct day and date for the meeting (Monday, June 7), but falsely stated the agenda had been “posted at least 72 hours prior to the regular meeting of the board of directors.” The agenda with the correct day and date had apparently been posted a mere 34 hours prior to the meeting, making any action taken at the meeting null and void until another meeting to correct the board’s faux pas takes place.
The only comment regarding this latest revision was from Jamie Hunt herself:
“I would like to apologize to the community for my faults in the agenda or anything else regarding minutes and agendas. I also apologize for this agenda’s issues. Here is a revised agenda. Please take the time to come to the meeting and speak with Sarah as well as the board. We wish for everyone to be involved and present credible facts that will be beneficial to the district. All we want is a positive future for our water.”
On Monday at about 3 p.m., she made another apology. “To the community of Elk Creek, I apologize. I am the one who did not get anything posted to the website. There is still a presentation tonight to explain the possible water rate increase. I was not intending to hide anything from this community. I will do my best to get better at the website. Please, instead of all this fighting, come join the board and help better our water.”
Sunshine Kelly then reminded her, “I have offered to help you, Jamie Hunt, with the website. I would also be a board member. Do the right thing and postpone the board vote and allow the community to have enough time to go over the actual information Sarah Bixler will share tonight. The board has failed at transparency and it seems intentional. You post some things on the website and don’t post others. The ECCSD owes their community they serve that right, to educate and then be given the opportunity and time to decide. Do the right thing. It’s that simple.”
Kelly reposted a message from 6:49 a.m. on March 10 in which she offered her assistance in helping with the website. She also reposted Hunt’s reply, in which Hunt claimed she was slowly getting the website “all figured out” but if Sunshine Rae Kelly found something wrong, “I would appreciate any words of wisdom.”
Things did not go well for the ECCSD board at Monday evening’s meeting. Sarah Bixler reportedly informed the board that transparency regarding the water rates has been lacking in the district, and the ECCSD could not take any action at the meeting and must start the process all over again.
This includes giving community members a minimum of 45 days to write letters of protest.
The Glenn County Observer 