Klamath Irrigation District Recall

Put Klamath back in KID!

“There appears to be a substantial objective basis to believe that one or more violations of the executive session provisions of Oregon public meeting law may have occurred … when the board of directors of the Klamath Irrigation District discussed topics not authorized for executive session.” Oregon Government Ethics Commission, July 2016.

KID To Hire Manager With Little Experience?

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n August 25th, the Herald and News reported that the “KID board seeks to fill manager post” after Hollie Cannon, previous interim manager, left on July 31st. We are finally starting to see some movement on getting a new manager hired for the Klamath Irrigation District, although there is clearly not consensus on who that manager should be.

The Herald and News staff reporter Holly Dillemuth on August 31 reported in the story “KID board taps top candidate“, that Chairman Brent Cheyne, Vice Chair Grant Knoll and Ken Smith voted 3-2 to move 66-year-old John Wolf to the “top of the heap” and move forward in the hiring process despite the fact Mr. Wolf has no experience running an irrigation district nor familiarity with computers or GIS.

According to the article, Mr. Wolf “served as a regional equipment manager for Knife River in the Waco, Texas-area for the past five years, and is a longtime heavy equipment mechanic and operator. He brings 30 years managerial experience to the post, and experience as a farmer and rancher.”

The other leading applicants were locals Shane McDonald, 42, who is current manager of the Enterprise Irrigation District, and Scott Cheyne, 47, manager Cascade Seed LLC. Chairman Cheyne mentioned a “potential conflict of interest” with hiring Scott Cheyne who is his fourth cousin .

Many KID patrons are questioning why Mr. Cheyne, Mr. Knoll and Mr. Smith would hire someone with no experience running an irrigation district and has little computer skills or familiarity with the tools that help keep the irrigation district afloat.

Again, this looks like the same type of decision making they made that brought New York City attorney Lawrence Kogan to town.

Kogan’s Final Bill to KID

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The Klamath Irrigation District finally received its final bill New York City attorney Lawrence Kogan, according to an August 31 Herald and News article titled “Outside counsel costs KID $128,500“.

In the article, Gerry O’Brien reports that through a request for information filed by the Herald and News, the bill for Mr. Kogan’s services from May 1st through July 14th was $70,000. That plus the previous invoice for $58,500 brings the final total to $128,500.

Though hired to negotiate the C Canal Flume contract, not a word of the contract was changed through Mr. Kogan’s “specialized guidance”.

In the article, the Herald and News writes:

The latest of Kogan’s bills include meals and travel expenses, such as airline tickets and long-term parking. Kogan’s hourly rate is $250 per hour. Much of the bills are focused on the C Canal contract and travel to Klamath Falls, Sacramento from New York and driving to Washington, D.C., from New York.

For May, Kogan billed $24,750 for 99 hours of work, plus $1,549 for expenses; for June, Kogan billed $29,250 for 117 hours of work, plus $1,265 for expenses; and for July, Kogan billed $14,000 for 56 hours of work. His contract was terminated July 14.

Klamath Irrigation District’s annual budget for legal expenditures is $70,000. A bill for Salem-based attorney and KID general counsel Nathan Rietmann has not been submitted.

Signatures Delivered to KID District Office

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At 11 am this morning, three Klamath Irrigation District (KID) Patrons delivered petitions signed by dozens of KID customers in support of recalling three board members currently be investigated by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.

In what may be the first recall of its kind in Oregon history, KID irrigators Ed Bair, Jason Chapman and Ross Fleming went above and beyond the number of patron signatures required by law to trigger the recall votes. Concerns over the secretive nature of their decision-making process, the departure of several long-time employees and the out-of-control legal budget along with the ethics investigation are helping drive the recall effort against Chairman Cheyne, Vice Chairman Knoll and Director Smith.

Also pushing the recall effort is the nearly-botched C-Flume contract process. Earlier this year, KID patrons voted 95% in favor of moving forward on the process of repairing the crumbling C Canal Flume. However, the “majority faction” of the KID Board of Directors fell in line with the delay tactics of New York City attorney Lawrence Kogan. After months of ignoring the wishes of patrons and avoiding public meetings, Chairman Cheyne reluctantly signed the paperwork. To make matters worse, the Board following Kogan’s delay ploy has now caused the project to take two growing seasons instead of one, likely unnecessarily increasing the cost of the C Flume project. After $130,000 in fees paid to Mr. Kogan, not a word of the contract was changed.

“Brent Cheyne, Grant Knoll, and Ken Smith, after seven destructive months of service, can now be recalled from the KID board of directors,” added Mr. Bair. “If successful, the remaining KID board members can appoint competent, reasonable and accessible patrons to serve until new board members are elected to serve out the remainder of the terms for the recalled members. The new KID board can quickly take constructive actions to right the ship and get KID back to doing what it is intended to do: safely and efficiently deliver water to KID patrons who so desperately need it.”

Another concern to KID patrons is the lack of leadership in finding a new manager for the irrigation district. Interim manager Hollie Cannon stepped down on July 31, and since then the Board of Directors has not found a new manager. Instead, without being directed to, assistant manager Darren Kandra has stepped up into the role. Add this to the fact the two out-of-town attorneys hired by the KID Board also have Oregon Bar Complaints filed against them, there are many KID patrons that are not happy with the leadership provided by Cheyne, Knoll and Smith.

To learn more about the signatures getting filed, please read the press release, “KID Recall Signatures Delivered to District Office”.

 

 

The Lack of Leadership Continues

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As the date for the signatures draws closer, the current “majority faction” of the KID continue to show a magnificent lack of leadership from what we can see.

After what appears to be a lack of communication, Hollie Cannon, interim manager for the Klamath Irrigation District, stepped down on July 31. Mr. Cannon was hoping to secure a three-year contract but needed a few conditions met. From what we can tell, not only were those conditions not met they went largely ignored.

Beginning August 1, KID was without a manager. With the fiduciary duties the Board is required to meet and the responsibilty they owe to KID irrigators, one would think finding a new manager would be of the utmost importance. However, not only has the Board of Directors not held a meeting to appoint a new manager, they’ve essentially “punted” and decided to let the situation handle itself.  According to a news article published in the Herald and News on August 3, assistant district manager Darren Kandra is picking up the ball and taking on district manager duties. In the article “Kandra acting as interim manager for KID“, Mr. Kandra indicates that no one told him to be the interim manager, “but he is assuming them anyway.”

Chairman Cheyne could not be reach for comment.

In our opinion, this is NOT how an irrigation district should be ran. These three gentlemen have a duty to ensure water is delivered to its patrons and that the needs of the irrigation district is met. The fact they new Mr. Cannon was leaving and made no effort to find someone to fill that position shows they should not be sitting on the Board of Directors.

If this outrages you as much as it does us, please learn what you can do to help.

What – Ethics Matter?

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For any governing body, transparent, ethical representatives are necessary to ensure the public’s trust isn’t violated.  However, in our opinion Chairman Cheyne, Vice-Chairman Knoll and Mr. Smith have done just that.

On February 11th, 2016, the Herald and News reported on placing two long-term Klamath Irrigation District employees on administrative leave in the article “Irrigation board suspends two workers“.  In an executive session meeting, the Board placed KID Manager Mark Stuntebeck and Shelly Gates on administrative leave. When asked by patrons as to why, Chairman Cheyne was quoted as saying, “Legal counsel has advised no comment.”

Later in February on the 19th, in the article “Irrigation District Dissent“, Herald and News report Lacey Jarrell reported on a meeting in Merrill where irrigators called the Board’s actions unethical, with many calling for Cheyne, Knoll and Smith to resign.  In the contentious meeting, the cause of Stuntebeck’s dismissal was over the issuance of check to the Klamath Water Users Association after the Board voted to be a part of the organization was brought to light.  After the Board publicly voted to remain with KWUA, when irrigators weren’t around Cheyne, Knoll and Smith changed their minds.

As of this writing, the $213,825 in fees collected from KID irrigators for KWUA membership has not been returned to irrigators, nor has the majority faction indicated how they’re going to spend it.

To create more questions about the ethics and transparency of Chairman Cheyne, Vice Chair Knoll and Mr. Smith, the Herald and News reported on the possibility of open meeting laws being violated in the April 27th article, “KID may have violated open meeting laws“.  Lacey Jarrell reported that these three men may have violated Oregon open meeting rules when they, along with attorney Lawrence Kogan, penned as what was seen as an “agressive and abrasive” letter to Edward Sheets concerning the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA). The Board, without approval from KID patrons, decided to oppose for reasons unknown to the public. (You can read the H&N article “KID considers fighting dam removal” to learn more).

When I spoke to them, and they thought it was necessary to act, I acted. Now, did they all agree at the same moment in time? No, they did not. But they were all aware that this process was available and they were all aware that the KID was denied the opportunity to see the draft (KHSA).

– Lawrence Kogan, “KID may have violated open meeting laws”

In the article, Kogan also admitted to making no attempt to speak with the other two KID Board member, Dave Cacka and Greg Carlton.

This lack of transparency and regard for ethics sparked a reaction throughout the KID irrigation community.  In his guest commentary in the May 22nd Herald and News, “KID board majority practices malicious deception“, farmer Ed Bair wrote, “The behavior of this group and their actions are not in the public interest. They continue to keep KID patrons in the dark about their motives and squander the district’s resources,” echoing the feeling of many irrigators.

Finally, on July 13th, in the article “Alleged KID ethics violations to be investigated“, Lacey Jarrell reported the Oregon Goverment Ethics Commission found reasons to investigate the accusations of public meeting violations. In the article, she wrote, ““There appears to be a substantial objective basis to believe that one or more violations of the executive session provisions of Oregon public meeting law may have occurred … when the board of directors of the Klamath Irrigation District discussed topics not authorized for executive session,” the document said.”