(March 4) The city of San Bernardino made its transition from the eight year-long administration of Pat Morris to that of Carey Davis on Monday.
Davis was elected with the support of Morris, turning back the candidacy of former councilman Wendy McCammack, who for the last eight years was a Morris rival. McCammack was recalled from office in November, on the same day she ironically qualified for the February mayoral run-off.
Under the stewardship of both Morris and McCammack, the county seat had not fared so well, having declared bankruptcy in 2012.
In another layer of irony, McCammack, a Republican, had been a supporter of the city’s employee unions, in particular the police and fire bargaining units, despite her party affiliation, while Morris, a Democrat, had proven a leading advocate against generous union-negotiated city employee salary and benefit contracts, which he said had led to the city’s economic decline and collapse.
Democrats are traditionally pro-union, while Republicans take a generally anti-union stance.
On his first day in office, which entailed a city council meeting following his inaugural, Davis plunged headfirst into the political fray, as the council took up his recommendation that the city create a committee to specify municipal charter changes.
Davis is looking toward changes in the city charter which lock in annual city employee salary raises. Those charter changes must be ratified by city voters and need to be placed upon the ballot. Davis hopes those proposals could come before voters as early as November.
The vote on the creation of the panel was deferred until a special meeting March 11, after the city attorney’s office pointed out that the charter review body cannot be formed as a commission without a vote of the city’s residents. Rather, it appears the council on March 11 will reconsider the matter by determining whether to create the task force as a committee.
Councilman John Valdivia, one of the few remaining Morris rivals on the council, also sought to have the format and composition of the panel reconsidered.  Davis had proposed having the council appoint representatives from the business community, city staff and citizens at large, along with a hired municipal charter “specialist.”
Valdivia indicated he wants the committee to have members appointed to it at least partially on the basis of their residency or affiliation with the city’s wards.
On Monday, the two other newest members of the city council, Benito Barrios and Henry Nickel, were sworn in.

(March 3)  The county is increasing by another $1.13 million the $1.3 million it has already paid the environmental engineering consulting firm Geo-Logic Associates  for assistance with regard to perchlorate contamination in northern Rialto.
Upon the recommendation of public works director  Gerry Newcombe, the  board of supervisors last week, in the words of Newcombe’s official staff report, approved an amendment to a contract “with Geo-Logic Associates to provide continuing and additional maintenance and operations support for the perchlorate and volatile organic compound groundwater treatment system at city of Rialto Well No. 3, in the amount of $1,131,550, increasing the total contract amount from $1,299,342 to $2,430,892, for the contract period of July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016.”
Geo-Logic’s work is related to activities at the former Broco facility, which the county purchased two decades ago and included as part of the operations at its Mid Valley  Landfill.
In the late 1990s, a plume of contaminants containing perchlorate was found to be migrating through the local water table. It is believed that five corporate entities – Pyro Spectaculars, Ken Thompson Inc., Chung Ming Wong, BF Goodrich, and Emhart Industries – were engaged in manufacturing activities that resulted in the accumulation and release of the perchlorate.
Water agency officials, state officials and federal officials believe the county of San Bernardino may have engaged in activity that exacerbated the perchlorate problem.
The county runs the Mid-Valley Landfill in north Rialto.
Officials with the Rialto-based West Valley Water District and their lawyers have alleged that San Bernardino County razed and buried a hazardous waste-disposal facility at the site, an act those officials maintain was not only illegal but has worsened the contamination of the groundwater below Rialto.
Broco Inc. maintained the hazardous-waste disposal operation in northern Rialto from the mid-1960s until the late 1980s. The county purchased the property in 1994 and used it in the expansion of the Mid-Valley Sanitary Landfill.
According to attorney Barry Groveman, who represents the West Valley Water District, it appears the county simply knocked the hazardous waste facility down and spread the debris around before burying it. That action was against the law, Groveman said.
Groveman said the county was in violation of state hazardous waste handling regulations and the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Burying hazardous waste and storing it without a permit is illegal.
In the area around the Broco site, Pyro Spectaculars, Ken Thompson Inc., Chung Ming Wong, BF Goodrich and Emhart Industries had operations that were ongoing in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Public health officials have identified that area as the origin of the plume of perchlorate.
Perchlorate is a product used in the manufacture of both fireworks and ordnance. In very minute quantities perchlorate can wreak havoc on the thyroid gland.
The site has been designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as one of its Superfund sites, which makes federal funding for the remediation available but also carries with it a requirement that the parties responsible for the contamination assist in the effort. Simultaneously, the EPA will apply the Superfund money toward the remediation. Eventually, if any of the parties deemed responsible for the contamination refuse to sponsor or otherwise pay for a share of the remediation, the EPA will sue and under federal law, any party proven responsible will be required to pay triple the cost of that portion of the clean up for which it was the contaminating party.
The ability to impose triple damages serves as an incentive for the responsible entities to undertake the clean-up on their own or participate in funding an EPA-sponsored remediation.
Previously, the city of Rialto sued BF Goodrich over the contamination issue. Rialto dropped that lawsuit after the company agreed to undertake a remediation effort. BF Goodrich did pay a total of $4 million – $1 million each to the cities of Fontana, Rialto and Colton as well as to the West Valley Water District. That money was used to treat specific wells that were producing perchlorate-laden water but did not redress the underlying problems in the aquifer. BF Goodrich, like the other companies, will yet likely be on the hook for millions of dollars more in decontamination efforts.
An EPA-designed program of remediation, consisting of contaminated water being pumped out of the ground to then be treated and distributed to water districts, is underway. It will likely take two decades or more for the perchlorate levels to be reduced to acceptable limits.
Rialto officials had initially resisted the call to have the area declared a Superfund site, largely because doing so could have a deleterious impact on property values in the area. As the expense of completing a remediation of the problem has been driven home to city officials, it is now accepted that the Superfund designation is the only realistic way of coming to terms with the problem.
The county of San Bernardino, nevertheless, has committed  several million dollars to a court battle to obtain a finding that it is not responsible for the contamination.
In May 2009, then-county counsel Ruth Stringer convinced the county board of supervisors to retain the law firm of Gallagher & Gallagher at an original cost of  $710,000. The legal services Gallagher & Gallagher was to provide pertained to allegations against the county for perchlorate contamination in connection with particular matters that fall outside of the defense work covered by the county’s insurance. Gallagher & Gallagher currently represents the county in connection with the federal and state court litigation and federal and state agencies’ investigations of the perchlorate groundwater contamination in the Rialto-Colton Basin.  Records show that so far the county has paid Gallagher & Gallagher  a total of $2,325,000 and that another law firm, Price Postel & Parma has been paid $4 million by the county for its work with regard to perchlorate contamination litigation.
According to Newcombe, “ Amending this contract allows for the continuation of certain services associated with the replacement of media, such as resin and activated carbon filters, and laboratory analysis of the groundwater treatment system samples at the perchlorate and volatile organic compound (VOC) treatment system at City of Rialto Well No. 3, through years two and three of the contract. In addition, this amendment includes laboratory analysis of the groundwater treatment system samples from the first year of the contract term to continue through years two and three, and for additional services for the repair and replacement of miscellaneous groundwater treatment system equipment, as needed, to maintain operation of the system for the remainder of the contract term.”
Newcombe said the county is working in cooperation with Santa Ana Region Water Quality Control Board and the Department of Public Health  to remediate the circumstance at the city of Rialto Well No. 3, “thus reducing the long term financial liability of the county. This amendment will ensure the county continues to meet its obligations under state-mandated Cleanup and Abatement Order No. R8-2004-0072 and the Department of Public Health permit for perchlorate and VOC related impacts to the groundwater from city of Rialto Well No. 3.
On June 25, 2013  the board of supervisors approved a sole source contract with Geologic Associates (GLA), for a three-year term to provide consulting services to conduct maintenance and operations support, groundwater monitoring and reporting related to perchlorate and VOC impacts to groundwater in the vicinity of the  landfill, and to provide review and oversight of the perchlorate and VOC removal by the groundwater treatment system at city of Rialto Well No. 3.
Newcombe told the board of supervisors, “Costs approved by amendment consist of the following: two resin replacements per year with an average cost of $119,400 per replacement; and two granular activated carbon change-outs per year with an average cost of $51,700 per change-out. In addition to media replacement costs, this amendment includes a budget of $75,000 per year to cover expenses to repair or replace miscellaneous groundwater treatment equipment. Examples of such expenses are as follows: replacement bag filters and ultra-violet unit bulbs (costing about $50 to $1,500 per order), electrical repairs required to service the system booster pump (originally costing about $65,000), variable frequency drives (originally costing about $25,000) and “CLA” valves (new cost about $15,000), flow meters (new costs about $3,500). Hence, replacement costs for such equipment  may range from $24,000 to $65,000 per item which would consume most of the annual cost  originally allocated for this task. This amendment accounts for a five percent annual increase in costs for equipment, media replacement and labor.
“Based upon the discussion above approximately $995,000 ( 88%) of the amendment increase is attributed solely to media replacement and equipment repairs and replacement,” Newcombe said.
“The term of the contract commenced on July 1, 2013 and will continue through June 30, 2016,  unless extended pursuant to contract section 29 or terminated pursuant to contract Section 7, or as otherwise provided for in the contract.”

(March 3) The county will pay a sole-source vendor $2.96 million to monitor its compliance with federal law in providing social services to its impoverished residents.
The county of San Bernardino Transitional Assistance Department  administers the Cal Works, Cal Fresh, Medi-Cal, General Relief and Child Care programs.
CalWORKs provides temporary financial assistance and employment related services to families with minor children. Homeless Assistance is included in that program.
The CalFresh program (previously Food Stamps) is a nutritional assistance program designed to help single people and families with little or no income to buy food.
The Medi-Cal program pays for health care for certain needy residents of California, including public assistance recipients.
The County General Relief (GR) program provides loan assistance to indigent individuals and families in temporary need of housing, food, and/or transportation. General Relief is the only TAD program that is totally funded, as well as administered, by the County of San Bernardino.
The Transitional Assistance Department operates a child care program funded by California Department of Social Services (CDSS). This program provides child care payments to providers on behalf of CalWORKs recipients in approved work or training programs, parents in child protective services cases, and the working poor.
Last week, at the recommendation of Nancy Swanson, the director of the county Transitional Assistance Department, the board of supervisors approved a contract with Exemplar Human Services, LLC “to provide customized automated performance management monitoring reports and services in the amount of $2,961,999 for the total contract period of March 1, 2014 through February 28, 2017.”
Swanson said Exemplar will provide “analytic  performance management services,” which she described as a “web-based subscription service” that will give her department “the necessary tools to enhance overall performance in order to meet mandated program requirements and improve service delivery and accuracy of benefits provided to eligible residents of San Bernardino County. The  reports provide work lists for specific categories, caseload activities, and statistics that show key ratios related to specific operations at all levels of the organization. This information allows executive staff, managers, supervisors, and line staff to monitor performance and manage daily caseload activities. In an effort to meet mandated performance standards, the Transitional Assistance Department  must have a reliable system to effectively monitor mandated program requirements, including timely processing of status reports, redeterminations of eligibility, and various other caseload activities related to administration of the programs.”
Swanson continued, “The Transitional Assistance Department utilizes the Statewide Automated Welfare System (C-IV) eligibility system to manage caseloads and associated tasks. However, C-IV is not currently programmed to provide the Transitional Assistance Department with reports necessary to effectively monitor performance and manage workload activities and productivity. Therefore, the Transitional Assistance Department, as a C-IV county, has had to purchase these services from another vendor. Exemplar is the only vendor currently providing these services in California.”
According to Swanson, “Exemplar specializes in providing analytical services to public assistance, Welfare to Work, and human services agencies nationwide to monitor and analyze key elements of performance.”
County spokesman  David Wert told the Sentinel  Exemplar Human Services will “measure the performance of employees who process these benefits. All of the various programs are federal programs the county is required to carry out at the local level. Along with providing the county with the funds for the benefits, the federal government requires that the county processing of the recipients and management of the programs be maintained at a certain level. The county does not have a way to measure this performance in giving out these benefits. This will allow the federal government to measure the county’s performance in administering these programs and will provide the federal government with a report to show how well the county is managing these federal mandates.”

(March 3) Family, friends, associates and acquaintances participated in a remembrance for former San Bernardino County Supervisor Jon Mikels       at the Upland Brethren in Christ Church on March 1.
Mikels passed away on December 31.
More than a hundred attended the memorial service, which was held at the house of worship in Upland where Mikels married Marjorie Musser four decades ago.
Marjorie Mikels and her three children with Jon – Angela Dunning, Jessica Appelgren and Amanda Mikels Vigdal – offered their vision of their husband and father, panegyrizing him as a community leader who had risen to the challenge of guiding an explosively growing community in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.
Jon Mikels was a member of the charter Rancho Cucamonga City Council when that city formed in 1977. At the age of 30, he placed fifth in a field of 36 candidates. He was later selected by his council colleagues in 1982 to serve as mayor. In 1986, he challenged and defeated incumbent Second District Supervisor Cal McElwain.
Mikels made his mark as chairman of the board of supervisors and as chair of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. He took the lead with respect to several regional planning issues, having co-sponsored the effort to approve Measure I, which imposed a half-cent countywide sales tax to pay for traffic improvements. He also sought to protect the right-of-way for what was then called the Highway 20 corridor and which is now the extension of the 210 Freeway from La Verne to San Bernardino.
Dunning, who is now an attorney working in San Francisco, said that as a child she had not realized the magnitude of the public issues her father was involved in. “All I knew as a kid growing up was I had a big, strong dad who was always there to protect us or scare us if we got out of line.”
Dunning said her father “wasn’t interested in being famous or being a politician.” Rather, she said, he “had a vision. He saw what this community could be and he saw what the county could be if we worked together and actually thought about the future and how to plan ahead.”
Marjorie Mikels credited him with instigating progressive action on the board of supervisors, even though he had not always initially embraced the ideas of his more liberal-minded constituents.
Like her daughters, Marjorie Mikels said her husband relished the role of being a “farmer.” After he would return from work and take off his business suit, which she referred to as his professional “costume,” she said he would delight in pruning the fruit trees on their property, many of which he had planted himself.
Among those paying their respects were Jeffrey King, who succeeded Mikels as mayor of Rancho Cucamonga and then went on to become a Superior Court judge and is now serving on the appellate court; former supervisor Dennis Hansberger; and Dennis Stout, who succeeded King as Rancho Cucamonga mayor and went on to become county district attorney.
Stout remembered Mikels as a “larger than life figure.”
Perhaps the most poignant tribute to Mikels was made by his boyhood friend, Don Robertson, who first encountered Jon Mikels, he said, when Mikels was about nine years old and living in the Los Angeles County community of Herman Valley. He said that Mikels was highly competitive, having committed to memory all the defensive and offensive plays possible in a primitive toy football game set they played as youngsters. He said that Mikels was a star basketball player whose skill eclipsed that of another local basketball luminary, Jim Marsh, who went on to play at Pasadena City College, USC and with the Seattle Supersonics.  Mikels’ college and professional basketball aspirations were thwarted, Robertson said, by a vindictive former coach who had Mikels suspended from the high school athletic federation on the basis of his having not met residency requirements at the high school he had transferred to. Basketball would have diverted Mikels from his true calling, Robertson said, which was serving as an elected official.
“The NBA’s loss was your gain,” Robertson said
Robertson then recited two poems that took Jon Mikels as their topic.
The first was one written by Mikels’ friend, Ron Evans, who grew up with Jon and later lived near Mikels in the community of Bandon, Oregon, where he had retired and ultimately passed into eternity.
Robertson declaimed:
“We were not like minded, you and I
Almost polar opposites, truth be told…
I, in my desire for purposes beyond view,
Would in flights of fancy pass through reality’s bounds
Often blurting out what to both of us was nonsense.
We were not like minded, you and I
Almost polar opposites, truth be told …
You, so self assured in the sweep of your grasp
You, not trusting what could not be verified
Restrained by tangible matter
Beyond which we did not speak.
Yet both of us were amazed and speechless
And so we would often sit silently
Just glorying in the truth of now.”
Robertson then recited his own composition, Big Bad Jon.
It goes:
“He stood tall and stout and strong
But one day he finally fell.
Friends once called him Big Bad Jon.
In the end, the weight of living would tell.
He liked to live in splendid isolation
But with arms spread wide to welcome a friend.
The visage of loved ones were his consolation
And their every need he did attend.
He once had been a political man
Who fought to make fairness abound.
One day he took a courageous stand
And a pack of crooks brought him down.
Three marvelous daughters he left behind
Who are jewels of achievement and grace.
A finer legacy one could never find
And they mourn he left in haste.
Jon trudged through his last years a lonely man.
The love of his life was gone.
It was a constant pain he could barely stand
But he carried on, smiling and strong.
Friends came together to say goodbye
In his chosen town, Bandon-by-the- Sea.
We joined with his family to laugh
And to cry and to celebrate
All that Big Jon loved to be.”