More changes are on the horizon for Morongo Valley’s cash strapped Fire Department as Morongo Valley’s loss is Calimesa’s gain. Assignment reporter Mike Lipsitz has details on last night’s bombshell…
Last night’s meeting of the Morongo Valley Community Services District began with the addition of a hastily convened closed session after which board president Gayl Swarat announced “with a heavy heart,” they had accepted unanimously the resignation of Fire Chief Jock Johnson effective December 31. During his four-and-a-half-year stint as chief, Johnson reorganized the fire department bringing it into compliance in a number of areas. Reflecting on his time serving Morongo Valley, Chief Johnson said, “It’s been extremely challenging, there’s been a lot of hurdles, and we’ve made great strides.” Johnson has taken a new position organizing Calimesa’s fire protection services from the ground up.
In other business, any decision on returning two district vehicles to CalFire was tabled pending additional information. And finally, the board chose Tuesday, November 29 at 6:30 p.m. for a budget workshop that will look into cuts in fire department staff.
MORONGO VALLEY CSD ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF FIRE CHIEF
