Cost of PUD watchdog group requested

Quincy man wants to know how much district spends to honor requests for public information

A local watchdog group has made a name for itself with numerous requests for how much money the Grant County PUD spends.

Now one Grant County man wants to know how much the PUD has spent to honor that group's requests.

Manuel Ybarra, who lives in Quincy, told commissioners during their Monday business meeting that he would like to know how much ratepayer money has been diverted to watchdog requests.

The group has done some good things, he added, but perhaps the PUD should limit that spending.

"It seems as though there's a lot of money going to research," Ybarra said.

Colleen Long, an Ephrata woman who has attended recent commission meetings, agreed during public comment, saying she has heard people in the community wonder about the same issue.

The watchdog group, which has no official name but whose members often refer to themselves as the "Vigilantes," has played a major role in the changes that have come through the PUD during the last year.

The group includes frequent critics of PUD management who regularly attend PUD meetings, including Bill Judge, Craig Jungers, Kathy Hanford-Wiley and Steve Beckett. However, the group has no formal structure nor membership.

Through public-records requests, members of the watchdog group have presented PUD commissioners with e-mails between PUD staff members and argued they tell a story of overspending on some projects, especially the PUD's Zipp fiber network.

Ray Foianini, the PUD's attorney, said state law requires the PUD to honor all requests for public documents. In fact, the district is in the middle of a lawsuit with Beckett because he alleges the PUD did not provide him public documents he requested in a timely manner, Foianini said.

In large part due to Beckett's voluminous requests for public records, the PUD assigned one employee to handle those requests full-time.

Last month, commissioners approved $68,317 in the 2004 budget for public-records work, which is supervised by Auditor Kim Justice.

Foianini added that staff members respond to requests from the commission to start an investigation.

Several times during meetings, a member of the watchdog group has requested the commission to investigate something uncovered in a public document, and commissioners will direct staff to do so.

For example, Craig Jungers asked the commission to look into a charge made to a PUD credit card for a phone call to an apparent prostitution service in Las Vegas made by an employee during a business trip.

The employee, fiber engineer Jon Moore, denied making the call but later resigned his position.

During the meeting, Ybarra said he didn't want the watchdog group's efforts to turn into a personal vendetta. Grant PUD should not become Chelan County PUD (which recently saw a recall effort of a commissioner arise and be rejected by a judge), Ybarra said.

Kathy Hanford-Wiley, who was at the meeting, spoke with Ybarra outside the room after he made his comments.

"I was mad that he said it was a personal vendetta, and he pointed at me," she said, adding that she has never named an employee during a public meeting.

Hanford-Wiley added that the law provides for public-records request, and Ybarra has a problem with the law, he should work to change it.

In other news, General Manager Tim Culbertson announced the final signatures had been obtained for the Hanford Reach Fall Chinook Protection Program.

The plan, which required approval by numerous entities surrounding the Hanford Reach area south of Grant County, is an effort to protect endangered salmon that live there.

Commission President Tom Flint said the agreement shows how the PUD has been a good steward of the land. Those who helped with the agreement deserve a big pat on the back, he said.

"This is a huge thing for the future of Grant County," he said.

In other news:

— Commissioners approved a transfer of $200,000 from a 2004 settlement hatchery operating-and-maintenance account to fund a contract for removal of Northern Pikeminnows from the Priest Rapids Project waters.

— Commissioners approved the extension of a contract with Washington, D.C. law firm Thompson Coburn LLP for legal representation in Grant PUD's efforts to recover $17 million owed from power sales to California utilities in 2000. The firm's current $190,000 contract will be increased to $290,000.