The Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors declared a local state of emergency at last night’s videoconference Board meeting. The declaration will give the Morongo Valley Fire Department access to essential equipment when responding to potential cases of coronavirus. As of March 17, Covington Park and the community building are closed; the Morongo Valley Fire Department building is closed to public tours; and the Morongo Valley softball season has been postponed until further notice. Reporter Andrew Dieleman has more from that meeting…
At last night’s meeting, the Morongo Valley Community Services District Board of Directors also discussed the approval of 2.5 years of backpay for duty officer tasks performed by Morongo Valley Fire Chief and Director of Operations Gary Yearsley. After tedious discussions and arguments among board members regarding the overall cost and what Yearsley’s contract stated his duties were, the board voted 4-1 (Director Jonny Tolbert voting nay), to pay Yearsley $82,425, which will cover those duties through the remainder of the fiscal year (June 2020). It was recommended that Yearsley’s contract with the district be reviewed amended to prevent any further compensation issues.
The board also set a new date of Wednesday, March 25, for a public workshop on the annual performance evaluation of Director of Operations Gary Yearsley (workshop will be conducted via Zoom), and agreed that bringing circus performances to Morongo Valley is possible, but only after the national threat of coronavirus has dissipated. The board tabled its audit report, as no audit representative could attend the meeting, and will continue discussions on future funding options for the district at future meetings. Lastly, the board adjourned to closed session to review memorandums of understanding with the firefighter’s union, the board reported that the MOUs were reviewed and approved.
At the board’s last meeting in February, Director Kristina Brook abruptly announced that she was resigning from the board due to accusations made against her by other board members. At last night’s meeting, she reported that she has not officially submitted her resignation and that she will remain a CSD board member until her resignation is made official.
