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Ramona water district lawyer resigns when director claims negligence

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By Karen Brainard

A brief special meeting of the Ramona Municipal Water District Board on Monday resulted in a heated exchange between Director Joe Zenovic and the district’s legal counsel, who announced he will be submitting his resignation.

While Zenovic claimed negligence on an action by legal counsel, James Gilpin, a partner with Best Best & Krieger, said he was resigning “because there’s a lot of shenanigans that I can’t support.”

Darrell Beck, board president, had called the special meeting to reconsider a vote taken at the board’s regular meeting July 22. The board had voted 3-1 to schedule a closed session to discuss employee-related matters raised by Director Rex Schildhouse. Zenovic had opposed the closed session.

Beck said on Monday that there were misunderstandings July 22 and he did not intend to vote for a closed session.

The employee-related matters were two of 10 items that Schildhouse had asked district General Manager David Barnum to place on the July 22 agenda. All 10 items were lumped into one agenda memo that, according to Schildhouse and Zenovic, was prepared by Gilpin with the two employee-related matters blacked-out. On July 22 Director George Foote referred to the two redacted items, saying he was clueless as to what they were about.

Gilpin said that, because of privacy rights, the employee issues would have to be discussed in a closed session.

“This is a rant by a director, —” said Zenovic.

“Let’s not go there,” Beck cautioned.

“— that’s making a personal attack against two staff employees,” Zenovic continued. “There’s no reason to go to closed session over it.”

According to Zenovic, the directors had been notified that information alleging false and misleading statements by two employees, as submitted by Schildhouse, was available at the district office before the July 22 meeting. Zenovic said he had picked up the document so he was familiar with the matter.

Foote’s motion to schedule a closed session was seconded by Schildhouse and approved 3-1, with Zenovic dissenting.

That vote was addressed at Monday’s meeting with Foote making a motion for reconsideration, and it was approved 3-1 with Schildhouse opposed.

Zenovic then asked Gilpin why he had redacted the two July 22 agenda items.

Gilpin said they involved privacy matters.

“The two items listed weren’t appropriate for public session so they were redacted,” he explained.

“I think that’s negligent on legal counsel’s part,” responded Zenovic.

He said the redacted items were damaging to the two stated individuals, as well as staff and the district. Although he said the names and positions could be blacked-out, the other information should have been made public.

“I can’t tell you how angry I am that this happened,” Zenovic said.

Gilpin countered that Zenovic had been made aware of the information, had a copy of it, and the matter was handled properly.

“And you have a habit directing negligent claims at legal counsel,” Gilpin said to Zenovic.

Gilpin said he would make his resignation effective at the conclusion of the meeting.

Zenovic moved that the board not schedule a closed session on the emloyee matters. It was approved 3-1 with Schildhouse opposed.

Schildhouse told the Sentinel he would like to know how much the special meeting cost the district. Directors are paid $100 per board meeting that they attend.

Schildhouse said that the board and staff members try to block items that he wants on the agenda. Board members and Barnum have told him he must write his own agenda memos and follow a particular format, but, he said, that is not required in the district’s board policy. Requiring that agenda memo format was one of the draft revisions to the district’s legislative code approved by the board July 22 by a 3-1 vote with Schildhouse opposed as he had issues with other revisions.

Among Schildhouse’s other agenda item requests July 22 that could not garner enough support for board discussion were: re-evaluation of the $900 staff costs for the June 23 evening public budget presentation, amending the district code to require only one board meeting a month, changing the meeting time to 4:30 p.m. or later, and requiring that all meeting and communication between any board and staff members be reported at the following board meeting.

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