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A presentation Aug. 15 at the evening board meeting of the Cameron Park Community Services District came with a mixed message.
Provided by General Manager Mary Cahill, the presentation was on the topic of free speech, meeting conduct, permissible signage, preparation of board agendas, and district policies on all these subjects. She said she was bringing it up because the topics had been raised many times by different people.
What followed was a no-holds-barred interchange between the board and Cahill and their critics in the community in regards to what is and isn’t allowed in the way of speech and conduct at meetings.
However, a low-level threat pervaded the proceedings with the presence of a sheriff’s deputy who said he was there to “keep the peace.” It was later revealed that the deputy had been hired by Cahill to attend the meeting.
Resident Gerald Lillpop pointed at the deputy and asked, “What is that gentleman doing here? That is the most chilling thing I’ve ever seen. Who ordered this? Who requested his presence?”
Board President Shiva Frentzen said she wasn’t aware of who had asked for the sheriff’s deputy.
Board member Alan Clarke volunteered that he had previously felt threatened at some of their meetings. “It’s domestic terrorism,” he said.
Lillpop then read from the Brown Act and said parts of CPCSD’s policy were in violation of the act. “Viewpoint discrimination is not allowed,” he said.
He accused the board of trying to curtail his speech. “All you priests and priestesses are subject to the law. I’m infuriated by that man (the deputy) being here and that she (Cahill) ordered it. All you need to do is follow the law but this is an act of intimidation using our tax dollars. She is trying to intimidate the public.”
CPCSD’s legal counsel responded by saying that Cahill did have the authority to have a deputy at the meeting if she felt there was a threat.
Resident Barbara Rogers noted, “This is really a sad night. Mary, you made a mistake. This is intimidating.”
She went on to accuse board member Scott McNeil of being aggressive and told him, “You think we’re a bunch of idiots. I’ve given six years of my life to this. Is this the way other agencies treat the public?”
Saying the discussion had been turned into a sideshow, she said she wasn’t going to be intimidated by the threat of either herself or her colleagues being arrested.
McNeil responded by saying he never found Rogers threatening — “emotional perhaps, but not threatening.” He reminded her that he has to represent the entire community and not just those who show up and criticize the board.
Rogers asked if what triggered the presence of the deputy was a private conversation she had had with Bill Carey at a previous committee meeting in which Carey used the word “a**hole.” “Is that the reason for the deputy?” she asked.
The discussion then turned to signs as Board member Greg Stanton commented that in the past the board had overreacted to signs from the audience. This was in reference to a previous meeting when the board got up and walked out after Carey put up a sign that McNeil found offensive.
“We’re supposed to have a thick skin but we’re human and react when we’re called names,” said Stanton.
Resident David Gelber reminded the board that board meetings were an adult venue. “This is not where you drop the kids off for an evening of entertainment,” he said.
Gelber also asked the board why the public was limited in the amount of time it was given but anyone else coming in with a PowerPoint presentation was given as much time as they wanted. He accused McNeil of trying to strip them of their right to free speech by labeling their comments as disruptive.
“If you can’t recognize the right to free speech, you’re not qualified to hold public office,” he said.
In response, McNeil suggested that their critics needed to “unlearn” certain behaviors.
That suggestion drew angry remarks from members of the audience.
Clarke then went on to say that at certain meetings people had used profanity or had been disruptive. “Other people have said their rights have been trampled on,” he claimed.
Cahill commented that as the general manager it was often difficult to weigh the input from community members and she had put the topic on the agenda to bring it to the forefront. She promised to examine the topics raised and to look at the district’s policies.
Resident Bill Carey then commented that “the board has reached the lowest level I have ever seen in six years. Having a sheriff’s deputy here? Maybe instead we need a psychiatrist or a psychologist here to care for people who are afraid to come.”
He then asked if there would be a deputy at every meeting.
Frentzen said that decision was up to Cahill.
Clarke closed the discussion by suggesting that public comments be limited to three minutes per person, that all profanity be prohibited, and that signs be controlled or eliminated.
These topics will be taken up at the September board meeting.
Contact Dawn Hodson at 530-344-5071 or dhodson@mtdemocrat.net. Follow @DHodsonMtDemo on Twitter.
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Gerald LillpopAugust 22, 2012 - 6:32 am
Dawn thank you for getting this in the paper. It was chilling having an armed deputy at our meeting. This was an unprecedented display of intimidation and coercion. And there are going to be questions as to Cahill's right as GM to order a deputy to be at our meetings. My research has lead me to believe that the board president is the person in charge of the meetings and thus in charge of security. When I asked what authority Cahill had the board said she conducts everyday business of the CSD. But the meetings are conducted by the board president. The board president calls the meetings to order in order to start them and adjourns the meetings in order to end them. So it seems that Cahill again over stepped her authority again. We will see how this plays out in September but I for one will not be intimidated by Cahill, Clarke or any their ilk.
Paula SpringerAugust 22, 2012 - 9:12 am
Dear Editor, Regarding the Sheriff being at the CSD August Board meeting. Obviously there are some regulars that attend all of the meetingn. As example whenever I'm there I always see Bill Carey & Gerald Lilipop. Most often David Gelbert and Barbara Rogers are also normally in attendance at each of the various meeting. There are others that come randomly. I'd like to speak for some of US other than the above that do NOT feel the same way as Gerald suggests. Gerald (and sometimes a couple of the other guys) are very forceful in how they approach (a better word would be verbally attack) the board of directors and Mary Cahil, and a couple of the guys are what I would call extremely "verbally abusive." At one committee meeting a suggestion by one of them was made TWICE bringing up dynamite as an alternative to an issue at hand. I for one was MORTIFIED. The meetings are recorded but THIS is only one of many comments that in my mind probably triggered bringing some protection to the community -- some of the comments and more so THE WAY they are spoken is at the LEAST offensive to ME AND apparently to the board and staff. Even with one Sheriff there I am uneasy in the presence of Gerald Lilipop. While the common sense in me HOPES he is just REALLY VENTING, the CSD has to look out for liabilities and protect those in attendance and I think having the deputy in attendance (if even just as a presence) was the only responsible thing to do. I hope he continues until the hostility in a couple of these guys settles a bit. Thanks for reading.
Gerald LillpopAugust 22, 2012 - 11:42 am
Dear Paula I will gladly bring you a security blanket and a binky next time you want to attend a meeting where I am going to be. As to verbally attacking board members the emphasis is on verbal. It is anyone's right to be critical of the board or staff. As I pointed out when I read from the Brown Act at the August meeting and as the CSD's legal counsel confirmed I am right in that assertion. What the board has done is impose viewpoint discrimination. This is illegal. It is unfortunate that I have had to repeatedly (starting in May of this year) and forcefully remind the CSD board that they are bound by the law not above it. If this makes you feel insecure in my presence ask your doctor for a tranquilizer. Or as I said let me know when you will be attending a meeting I will be at and I will bring you a security blanket and a binky to suck on so you will not feel uncomfortable. You see Paula I really am a caring, generous sweetheart.
ConcernedAugust 23, 2012 - 6:48 am
You are one strange boy Gerald! You alone make the case for having a peace officer present!
Jim RiordanAugust 23, 2012 - 11:39 am
With respect to the presence of a Deputy at the meetings (which I do not attend) I have never found a Deputy to be anything but professional and I believe I can assure you that he or she will never give any law abiding citizen any reason to worry about their presence. As far as the "need" for law enforcement, I can't say . . one certainly cannot give any credence to Alan Clarke who is afraid of his own shadow. The cost of providing the services is, to me, a Cahill and Clarke issue and they should simply split the costs of the deputy's services. It should not come from the CPCSD funds in my opinion. Have any of you board members done ANY DUE DILIGENCE research on cahill? Here are a couple of articles from the web that should have gotten your attention if you had done ANY research. Remember, the taxpayers are paying you for DUE DILIGENCE . . .these should have gotten your attention, but obviously did not, making some taxpayers irate. 9/15/2005 Source: The other side: Mary Cahill, who was terminated Sept. 6 as general manager of the Chico Area Recreation District, took issue with CARD board and media characterizations of her parting. While a press release issued by CARD attorney Jeff Carter stated Cahill was “terminated … without cause,” Cahill said she left by “mutual agreement” after much discussion over a period of time. She was given $100,000 in severance pay as required by her contract. “I was not fired,” Cahill said. “It was a discussion and it was definitely both-sided. … It makes it look like I did something wrong when I didn’t,” she added. Source: Author: ROGER H. AYLWORTH - Staff Writer Date: September 7, 2005 Publication: Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA) Article ID: 3006733 Mary Cahill, general manager of the Chico Area Recreation and Park District, was "terminated" Tuesday after a closed-door meeting of the district's Board of Directors. A brief press release issued through CARD's attorney Jeff Carter said Cahill had been fired "without cause." In the same press release, Jan Sneed, chair of the Board of Directors, said the general manager was fired "without cause. Source: FROM THE NAPA REGISTER September 11, 2008 12:00 am (0) Comments Mary Cahill is leaving Calistoga, without explanation, after only eight months in a newly-created, roughly $100,000-a-year job that focused mostly on running the city’s long-anticipated public swimming pool. Her departure, which will be effective Oct. 15, may come as a shock to pool advocates who have worked tirelessly for years and now, finally, are within sight of a completed project. But, at least for the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a need to panic. Cahill has laid the groundwork for someone else to take over the planning for the pool and see it through to the scheduled opening in mid-May of next year. Last week she delivered to the city council a detailed report and preliminary budget showing how it would work. The city now must move expeditiously to fill the void that will come after Oct. 15. During her short tenure in Calistoga, Cahill established herself as a competent administrator, but she was faulted for failing to build rapport with community groups. The lingering question is how much of that failure can be traced directly to Cahill and how much is linked to the hodgepodge of unrelated tasks that she was assigned to do. Although the public perception was that she was hired to organize and oversee the pool operation, she also was placed in charge of a jumble of other programs including the Sharpsteen Museum, the Handyvan transit, senior citizen activities, parks and recreation, and the city’s involvement in the public library. All of these programs were lumped together into a new department called Community Resources, with Cahill as the director. The City Council approved creating the new department, and council members knew that Cahill would have department head status in one of the city’s highest paid positions. But council members didn’t know — until word began to filter through the community — what Cahill was doing in addition to her work on the pool project. City Manager Jim McCann recently told The Weekly Calistogan editorial board that, unlike what happened when Cahill was hired, this time he will consult with the council about the responsibilities of her successor and how the new department should be organized. That is as it should be. Council members need to know who is in charge of city programs and who can be held accountable. They shouldn’t find it out from their constituents. McCann and the council have several options, including (1) replacing Cahill and keeping the department as it is now organized, unwieldy but perhaps still manageable; (2) replacing Cahill but taking away some of the programs that she supervised and moving them back to where they were before, run by other department heads; (3) abandoning the entire Community Resources Department and hiring only a full-time pool manager; and (4) abandoning the department and contracting for private operation of the pool. We can see the pool operating efficiently in various scenarios, but we would favor having a Calistoga-based employee who could take ownership of this new and exciting program and develop it to its full potential, in concert with the wishes of the citizens who will use it and pay for it. The primary goal now should be to maintain the momentum that Cahill has built so that the pool can open next spring without further delay. That means refining the preliminary operating budget and moving toward hiring the 30 part-time, seasonal employees who will be needed. In 2006 the city estimated that it would cost $195,000 to run the pool during its first year, but that figure now appears to have been off the mark. Cahill’s preliminary budget estimates that $593,300 will be needed to operate the pool next season and for the first six weeks of the following season. One-time start-up costs for the first year are one reason for the higher figure, but it’s now apparent that it will cost more to run and maintain the pool than officials originally estimated. Exactly how much more won’t be known until the pool has operated for at least a season and costs and revenue figures are in hand. Even at this early point in the process, one member of the city council — money watchdog Gary Kraus — is criticizing part of the budget. At last week’s council meeting, Kraus questioned whether the city would be able to hire the part-time pool employees for the estimated average wage of $13 per hour. Cahill’s report also noted the potential difficulty, pointing out that Calistoga is “a high-cost area with limited hiring or contracting opportunities.” Cahill’s departure leaves several unanswered questions — about the reasons for her leaving, and also about the swimming pool that will usher in a new spring season in Calistoga. So my question to you board members is why would any of you hire somone with such comments as "faulted for failing to build rapport with community groups." about her right out in the open for all to find? Why would you hire someone who had questionable relations with citizens? This appears to me just be the same old BS and you could have avoided it with a simple search. Why did you Board members do this to us? If you did it knowingly those involved should quit. If you did it UNKNOWINGLY then The CPCSD is definately being led by the "unknowing". I hope you get your act together before you bury us in debt. Don't sweat the deputy . . . Sweat the day to day management . . . or "mis-management". That is going to be your lasting "legacy".