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Jul 3, 2007
The Press Enterprise - Grand jury finds Jurupa agency violated laws
RIVERSIDE - The Jurupa Community Services District violated state law when it sold 4 acres of public land to Rep. Ken Calvert and his investment partners without first offering it to other public agencies -- including the local park district that wanted it, the Riverside County grand jury concluded in a report released Tuesday.
The grand jury recommends that the water and sewer agency turn over the $1.2 million it pocketed from the sale, minus costs, to the Jurupa Area Recreation and Park District.
The report, which concludes a five-month investigation, also found that:
Unnamed management officials used district credit cards to buy clothes, food and other personal items;
No-bid printing contracts were awarded to the relative of a district official, in violation of the California Public Contract Code;
Management recommendations for action were generally accepted without question.
The grand jury recommends that the district publish a policy and procedures manual to set out provisions for responding to such issues in the future.
The Jurupa Community Services District provides water, sewers, streetlights and graffiti removal to the unincorporated Riverside County communities of Eastvale, Pedley, Glen Avon, Sunnyslope and parts of Mira Loma.
It is also developing a park system in Eastvale, another unincorporated community.
The district has an estimated 22,500 water connections.
The report brought a muted response from district officials.
"We're taking it under advisement," Director Paul Hamrick said. "We'll make our decision after we digest it a little bit more."
Director Jim Huber declined comment.
Director R.M. "Cook" Barela, who said he had provided many of the documents the grand jury used in the investigation, said he has requested that directors discuss the report publicly at Monday's board meeting.
"At that time, each board member will be able to discuss each item, and we will be able to put together our response to the recommendations," Barela said.
The district has until Sept. 27 to draft its response.
The 4 acres were deeded to the Jurupa Community Services District in 1976 in lieu of annexation fees. Historical documents and news reports at the time indicate the land was to be used for recreation purposes.
The park district had expressed an interest in buying the land for park use in 2001.
Instead, the community services district quietly sold the land to Calvert, R-Corona, and his partners in 2005 without the required notification to other public agencies and without publicly marketing the land.
Park district officials said the grand jury report only confirms what they have maintained all along: The land should have been turned into a park to serve Mira Loma residents.
"If they want to follow the recommendations of the grand jury, we can sit down and talk about resolving the problem," said Robert "Bobby" Hernandez, president of the park district's board of directors.
Otherwise, Hernandez said, the park district will follow through on its stated plan to seek legal action to force the return of the land or the $1.2 million the sale netted
