Update: 12/16
At the request of the MVCSD, we have changed the description of meetings to “Special” rather that “Emergency”
At a special meeting, the Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors announced their intention to seek county support for the Morongo Valley Fire Department, and that Jim Brakebill will be taking over as interim Director of Operations. Reporter Jef Harmatz attended the meeting and has the breakdown.
At their second contentious special meeting in less than one week, the board quickly departed for two and a half hours of closed session discussions. Upon their return, the board’s legal counsel announced that the services district had been in contact with county fire officials and that they would begin to formalize an arrangement to bring in county staff to assist the fire department until more local firefighters can be hired. Chief Gary Yearsley, who has been accused of creating a hostile work environment and is set to retire at the end of the year, did not attend the meeting. The board announced that Deputy Fire Chief Jim Brakebill would take over as interim Chief of Operations from Yearsley until the position could be permanently filled. During the closed session, members of the community created an ad hoc town hall over the online meeting platform and expressed frustration with the state of the fire department, with some suggesting that they would seek positions on the board in the coming year.
