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ENLARGE
Jade Frady, 5, learns how to ride her bike on the basketball court Friday at Western Gateway Park in Penn Valley.
A draft audit of Western Gateway Recreation and Park District points to serious flaws in management, echoing concerns from board members who are asking the chairman to step down.
A draft audit conducted by Scinto and Graziano LLP has found “serious deficiencies, material weaknesses and non-compliance with laws and regulations,” said director and finance officer Valerie Lashbaugh.
Lashbaugh alleges that chairman of the park district board Bill Howland is incompetent and has more than once illegally taken action without board approval.
Howland would not discuss the matter.
“I can’t comment on any of her allegations. I can’t. I won’t, for the interest of the park,” Howland said.
At a district board meeting this week, Lashbaugh publicly asked Howland to step down.
“His poor judgment and actions put the district, board members and himself at risk,” Lashbaugh said, calling the chairman “grossly ignorant.”
In recent weeks, park Manager Mary Lee Allen has submitted her resignation along with district board member Pat Riley, who cited health problems. Two other board members resigned in summer 2007.
Lashbaugh is preparing to release a financial report detailing the inner workings of the district at a board meeting at Buttermaker’s Cottage at 7 p.m. Dec. 3.
“There is much that is out of compliance in the district. There has been complete incompetence,” Lashbaugh said.
Since Lashbaugh joined the board this summer and began reviewing financial documents, she has discovered that Howland has taken several actions without getting approval from the rest of board, she said.
Howland authorized funds to alter the scope of work on the park’s ball fields, a decision that cost the park $8,500, she said.
Doing things by the book
“I think it’s from a lack of knowledge of what his responsibility is,” said Supervisor Hank Weston, who has tried to organize teams from the county to consult with the district on matters of setting policy, developing a master plan and operating more conservatively under a limited budget.
Board members haven’t received training on basic matters such as the Brown Act for public notification and meetings, Weston said. Penalties on back taxes remain unpaid, and major repairs in the park are made without board approval, building permits or construction contracts, Weston said.
“They’re a special district. They’re no different than the Board of Supervisors. They have to do things by the books, and they haven’t,” Weston said.
The 87-acre park operates on a limited budget of about $150,000 that comes from $12 parcel fees within the district and user fees for the park’s baseball fields and other facilities. The park district stretches from Penn Valley to Rough and Ready, Bridgeport and parts of McCourtney Road and Bitney Springs Road, Weston said.
When completed as soon as spring 2009, a master plan for the park will free a pot of money held by the county totaling about $200,000 needed for improvement projects, park officials said.
Some work has been done
In recent months, the park has worked to remedy problems such as paving the cracks of its crumbling tennis courts and reseeding the baseball fields.
But a $50,000 overhaul of its irrigation system is needed to pipe water to its new dog park, disc golf course and horse trails. Last summer, a temporary pump was installed only after the park’s extensive lawns turned brown.
Increasing the parcel fees that provide the bulk of the park’s revenue could relieve budgetary constraints, Weston said. Getting public approval to raise fees rests on the park managers’ ability to prove they are taking care of what Weston calls the “gem of Penn Valley.”
“People won’t vote for something that they see is totally dysfunctional,” Weston said. “You can see it’s a catastrophe. They have to almost start from scratch again. That’s how bad it is.”
Howland will meet with county auditor-controller Marcia Salter soon to discuss the park’s draft audit and get advice for how to move forward. She could not discuss the audit because it remains a draft, she said.
“I just want to help them get back on their way,” Salter added. “There is work to do down there.”
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
A draft audit conducted by Scinto and Graziano LLP has found “serious deficiencies, material weaknesses and non-compliance with laws and regulations,” said director and finance officer Valerie Lashbaugh.
Lashbaugh alleges that chairman of the park district board Bill Howland is incompetent and has more than once illegally taken action without board approval.
Howland would not discuss the matter.
“I can’t comment on any of her allegations. I can’t. I won’t, for the interest of the park,” Howland said.
At a district board meeting this week, Lashbaugh publicly asked Howland to step down.
“His poor judgment and actions put the district, board members and himself at risk,” Lashbaugh said, calling the chairman “grossly ignorant.”
In recent weeks, park Manager Mary Lee Allen has submitted her resignation along with district board member Pat Riley, who cited health problems. Two other board members resigned in summer 2007.
Lashbaugh is preparing to release a financial report detailing the inner workings of the district at a board meeting at Buttermaker’s Cottage at 7 p.m. Dec. 3.
“There is much that is out of compliance in the district. There has been complete incompetence,” Lashbaugh said.
Since Lashbaugh joined the board this summer and began reviewing financial documents, she has discovered that Howland has taken several actions without getting approval from the rest of board, she said.
Howland authorized funds to alter the scope of work on the park’s ball fields, a decision that cost the park $8,500, she said.
Doing things by the book
“I think it’s from a lack of knowledge of what his responsibility is,” said Supervisor Hank Weston, who has tried to organize teams from the county to consult with the district on matters of setting policy, developing a master plan and operating more conservatively under a limited budget.
Board members haven’t received training on basic matters such as the Brown Act for public notification and meetings, Weston said. Penalties on back taxes remain unpaid, and major repairs in the park are made without board approval, building permits or construction contracts, Weston said.
“They’re a special district. They’re no different than the Board of Supervisors. They have to do things by the books, and they haven’t,” Weston said.
The 87-acre park operates on a limited budget of about $150,000 that comes from $12 parcel fees within the district and user fees for the park’s baseball fields and other facilities. The park district stretches from Penn Valley to Rough and Ready, Bridgeport and parts of McCourtney Road and Bitney Springs Road, Weston said.
When completed as soon as spring 2009, a master plan for the park will free a pot of money held by the county totaling about $200,000 needed for improvement projects, park officials said.
Some work has been done
In recent months, the park has worked to remedy problems such as paving the cracks of its crumbling tennis courts and reseeding the baseball fields.
But a $50,000 overhaul of its irrigation system is needed to pipe water to its new dog park, disc golf course and horse trails. Last summer, a temporary pump was installed only after the park’s extensive lawns turned brown.
Increasing the parcel fees that provide the bulk of the park’s revenue could relieve budgetary constraints, Weston said. Getting public approval to raise fees rests on the park managers’ ability to prove they are taking care of what Weston calls the “gem of Penn Valley.”
“People won’t vote for something that they see is totally dysfunctional,” Weston said. “You can see it’s a catastrophe. They have to almost start from scratch again. That’s how bad it is.”
Howland will meet with county auditor-controller Marcia Salter soon to discuss the park’s draft audit and get advice for how to move forward. She could not discuss the audit because it remains a draft, she said.
“I just want to help them get back on their way,” Salter added. “There is work to do down there.”
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
