Grant PUD attorney dismissal remains discussion topic

EPHRATA — One week after Grant County PUD commissioners received public criticism for dismissing longtime contracted attorney Ray Foianini, more people responded to the controversy during Monday’s meeting.

Commission President Terry Brewer read a prepared statement and Commissioner Greg Hansen, a supporter of Foianini’s, shared a letter written by Foianini.

Four Grant County residents also spoke.

Brewer denied the commission illegally made a decision about Foianini’s contract during a Feb. 17 executive session. He considers the “so-called action” a “no action,” he said.

But Hansen claims otherwise, saying it was decided during the executive session that Foianini’s contract wouldn’t be renewed.

Decisions must be made during open sessions, according to the state‘s Open Public Meetings Act.

Brewer said Foianini’s contract was not renewed, “simply because of the high cost of his legal service to the district, but more importantly because his job performance was evaluated and considered before any decision was made.”

“While he and a few others have espoused that his legal work has saved the district millions of dollars, the rest of the untold story is that Mr. Foianini did not handle litigation; instead, he directed the district’s litigation to the Wenatchee law firm of Jeffers (Danielson) Sonn ?(& Aylward).”

Brewer also criticized Foianini for having his associate attorney use the PUD’s copying machine while being paid $115 per hour and not being proactive in directly communicating with PUD General Manager Tim Culbertson.

Foianini accused Culbertson of intimidation tactics, but never documented incidents, Brewer said.

“I have never seen the general manager use intimidation (you stated that he does), but I do believe intimidation is one of your tactics with the commission and perhaps even with staff,” Brewer stated.

He also spoke of Foianini allegedly hiring outside counsel to obtain a legal opinion about a Bonneville Power Administration legal contract and later dismissed the opinion.

Brewer also accused Foianini of sending “purchase and sale” agreements to another attorney for review.

He refuted accusations of the commissioners discussing rates outside of public meetings and insists they follow the law.

Four commissioners attended an all day workshop last year about the Open Public Meetings Act and public records requests.

Hansen read a letter from Foianini, in which the former PUD attorney claimed during a performance review that “not one negative word was said about my performance nor was any mention made of my ‘interfering with business management decisions.’”

Foianini stated that Commissioner Bob Bernd’s assertion that he claimed to be paid $239,000 annually was false.

The misunderstanding may have occurred from Foianini’s Feb. 9 memo to the PUD, which states he was previously paid $239,000 on an annualized basis.

Foianini stated Brewer allegedly provided no specifics when accusing him of interfering with management’s business decisions.

“If that were a real motivation for his vote to fire me, presumably he would have discussed that during my Feb. 2, 2009, performance evaluation or otherwise not asked me to apply for the general counsel position that has been put out for advertisement,” Foianini stated. “It’s time for the three commissioners to fess up and admit what really has been going on.”

Foianini claimed the real reason he was fired was because he’s a threat to commissioners Brewer, Bernd and Flint’s political agendas regarding industrial customer contracts and telecommunications.

“You know that I have and would continue to inform you and the management when I believe your proposed actions are illegal,” Foianini stated. “You know that I would not sit idly by and allow the management to mislead the public and your fellow commissioners. You know that I was not and would not be a rubber stamp for you nor for management.”

Brewer’s response was contained in his prepared statement.

“Mr. Foianini, you have made the claim that you believe that there have been closed meetings on rate discussions. Well, I would ask that you document your claim or give it up,” he read. “As far as I am aware, all discussions on rate structure or rate policy have been done within the RCW’s and the Open Meetings Act. I assure you and the customers at Grant PUD that there will be multiple rate hearings before there is a rate chance or policy decision at Grant PUD.”

Public input

Before the exchange of written comments were read, citizens were questioning commissioners about the situation with Foianini.

Moses Lake resident Dale Walker accused Foianini of instigating the meeting and mentioned entrapment.

Walker also asked about what occurred at two February commission meetings regarding Foianini.

Hansen said Foianini didn’t call the meeting, rather, he arrived there for his performance review.

Commissioner Randy Allred said commissioners requested information from Foianini regarding salary ranges. To suggest Foianini did all this alone was “absolutely incorrect,” Allred explained.

WSS Corporation President Lee Willis, who works for a business management and operations company owning the Titan Building near Moses Lake, also spoke.

Willis said last week’s spectacle at the commission meeting made it clear to him what was going on.

He claimed the people, who spoke last week, are against fiber and anything remotely positive for Grant County.

The group “attacked some of you,” Willis said.

“Believe you me, in the public, there are phone calls, messages and e-mails rampant,” he added.

Some people want to continue the cheap flow of power to Western Washington at the expense of jobs in Grant County, Willis noted.

Willis said if that’s the crowd that opposed the decision about the attorney, then the commissioners made the right decision.

He also spoke of alleged legal rulings made by Foianini he didn’t believe were appropriate.

Hansen said he didn’t think Willis knew what he was talking about and asked him to provide examples of Foianini’s alleged legal rulings.

Willis replied he would provide a list of examples next week.

Hansen also questioned Willis about how long he lived in Grant County.

Kelly Ryan, CEO of Ephrata-based iFiber Communications, asked Hansen how long one must live in Grant County to have an opinion and be able to speak with commissioners.

Bill Hewitt, of Ephrata, said he thinks the majority of the citizens trust the commission.

Hewitt said commissioners have to deal with a vocal minority, which is the same group Hewitt encountered while working for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

“Vote your heart and back up what you believe,” Hewitt remarked.