Pugel, 3 others face PSWID recall

Pine Strawberry Water Improvement

District (PSWID) turmoil continues

 

WEBSITE:  http://recallpswidboard.com/

The committee named "RECALL PSWID BOARD" after officially filing recall paperwork in Globe this week, is ready to start collecting signatures for the next 102 days. Information as to where and when signatures will be collected will be announced soon. Ric Hawthorne, Chairman of RECALL PSWID BOARD, will be the spokesperson for the recall and media contact person.

Here are the officially filed descriptions of each of the board members being recalled. The information on our replacement candidates will be released very soon as well.

Ray Pugel, PSWID Chairman

This board member has failed to represent the best interests of the ratepayers and property owners of the PSWID. As Chairman of the PSWID Board, Mr. Pugel was aware in January 2013 of a potentially deadly Fecal Coliform and E. coli bacterium outbreak at the Strawberry Hollow Well, which he then failed to bring to the Publics attention until his hand was forced in March 2013, by other Board members making the information public. He has proven to be unresponsive and unwilling to address concerns and complaints from the local citizens, is more interested in defending issues such as turbidity in the water supply than doing anything to resolve it, and shown himself to be incompetent in his duty as a Board Member to oversee the management and spending of PSWID funds. Exhibiting a lack of due diligence in managing ongoing water quality and infrastructure issues, as well as failing to adhere to written procurement and contract rules, Mr. Pugel is now pushing a 7.5 Million Dollar bond issue which, along with recent rate hikes, will saddle residents with $15 million dollars in debt, which will lead to even higher rates and increased property taxes.

Gary Lovetro, PSWID Vice Chairman

As Chairman of PSWID from Aug. 2010 through Dec. 2012, and Vice Chairman after that, Mr. Lovetro is actively combative and dismissive of the public’s right to question PSWID actions and disrespectful of other board members who dare to disagree with him. Mr. Lovetro has continually made excuses for the malfeasance of thousands of dollars in misused PSWID funds, and was instrumental in the Treasurer remaining on the board until public pressure forced his resignation. Mr. Lovetro oversaw many questionable deals, including failure to appraise the Milk Ranch Well before purchase, the questionable generator contracts, ignoring PSWID rules and regulations regarding contract bids, and hasn’t followed through on filtration approved to address turbid water issues. In January 2013, Mr. Lovetro was aware of a potentially deadly Fecal Coliform and E. coli bacterium outbreak at the Strawberry Hollow Well, which was not made public until the March 2013, meeting. Mr. Lovetro is now pushing a 7.5 Million Dollar bond issue, which along with recent rate hikes, will saddle residents with $15 million dollars in debt, which will lead to even higher rates and increased property taxes.

Ron Calderon, PSWID Treasurer

As current Treasurer of the PSWID, Mr. Calderon has failed to professionally represent the community, both through his inappropriate threats of physical violence to the public and a lack of due diligence on behalf of the community he was elected to represent. Furthermore, as part of the rubber stamp Board majority, Mr. Calderon made allowances for the malfeasance of thousands of dollars of PSWID funds, approved questionable deals including a failure to appraise the Milk Ranch Well before purchase, the contested generator contracts, ignoring PSWID rules and regulations regarding contract bids, and as part of this board, Mr. Calderon has not followed through on filtration approved to address turbid water issues. In January 2013, Mr. Calderon was aware of a potentially deadly Fecal Coliform and E. coli bacterium outbreak at the Strawberry Hollow Well, which was not made public until the March 2013, PSWID meeting. Ignoring public concerns, he has proven to be fiscally irresponsible with PSWID funds. Mr. Calderon is now pushing a 7.5 Million Dollar bond issue which, along with recent rate hikes, will saddle residents with $15 million dollars in debt leading to even higher rates and increased property taxes.

Richard Dickinson, PSWID Secretary

As Secretary of the PSWID, Mr. Dickinson neglected his duty by co-signing checks without the required supporting documentation during the former Board Treasurers misuse of public funds. Furthermore, as part of the rubber stamp Board majority, Mr. Dickinson made allowances for the malfeasance of thousands of dollars of PSWID funds, approved questionable deals including a failure to appraise the Milk Ranch Well before purchase, the contested generator contracts and ignoring PSWID rules and regulations regarding contract bids. As part of this board, Mr. Dickinson has not followed through on filtration approved to address turbid water issues, and has repeatedly and publicly stated that topics such as budget preparations “should not include public input”. Mr. Dickinson was aware of a potentially deadly Fecal Coliform and E. coli bacterium outbreak at the Strawberry Hollow Well, which wasn’t made public until the March 2013 PSWID meeting. Mr. Dickinson is now pushing a 7.5 Million Dollar bond issue, which along with recent rate hikes, will saddle residents with $15 million dollars in debt, which will lead to even higher rates and increased property taxes.