||| FROM LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR |||
Eastsound Water Users Association situation is confusing to me. Anybody else think this way?
Several times, now, I have been cautioned to not publish an email I received from EWUA — after I have posted it. I’ve also received a request to post something from EWUA and, please, close the comments.
I have no idea who the good guys or the bad guys are in this debacle. I just post what is sent to me. But withholding news is not something I’m good at.
Today’s post, “Where there’s smoke, there must be a…” has been removed, again at the request of Dan Burke.
Thoughts???
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Thank you for the explanation Lin about what has been happening and your policy. I, for one, appreciate that you have been willing to post material from all sides, even the posts that target me personally, as many from EWUA have. I would like to make it clear that I have never asked you to withdraw any post or comment. Not mine nor those of anyone else.
Lin, as someone who served on the EWUA Board for many years, my main thought is that there is an opportunity here for some serious independent investigative reporting.
As a reader, it can be frustrating when posts with well developed comment sections (especially comments that help to clarify positions and assertions), simply disappear. Thank you, Lin, for attempting to preserve this content as much as possible.
I agree the whole thing is confusing. Personally, I don’t think an article should be removed at the request of someone other than the person who wrote it.
Speaking (independently) as an occasional contributor to The Orcasonian, I can say with confidence that Lin does not have the resources to take on such an investigative piece, however helpful it might be. And even if she did and asked me to consider it, I would politely (and wisely) decline. The time it would take to untangle this mess — assuming I could even do so — is not how I want to spend the rest of my summer. For what it’s worth, I feel there has been plenty of information circulated in those many editorials and comments to at least draw a basic map of the issues and players involved. IMHO, I think that if the board was truly concerned with serving the members of the EWUA, it would resign en masse, call for new elections (where anyone can apply), and bring in an experienced facilitator (heck, what’s a few thousand dollars more) to help ensure, in a series of public forums, that a fair airing of perspectives is presented. Then let the membership decide.
I’m appalled to hear that you’ve been requested to post an article from EWUA “and please close the comments”.
I did not see “Where there’s smoke, there must be a…” during its short life on the Orcasonian; however, I did read it when it was sent to me via the EWUA member communication system. Written in part in the first person singular, it was attributed to the “Eastsound Water Team”. By removing it at the request of Dan Burke, you confirm my suspicion that he was its author.
If the Orcasonian article had also been attributed to the “Eastsound Water Team”, in my view that was contrary to your policy that all submissions require that the name of the submitter be included.
So my suggestion is that you enforce your “Name (required)” policy, particularly in relation to controversial topics, in order to prevent the spreading of scurrilous accusations by someone hiding behind the name of a “team” of some sort.
Also, in the event that an author requests you to remove a submission, it would be helpful to your readers if you left its title on the Orcasonian with a note to the effect that it’s been removed at the request of the author.
I highly suggest there be a Stability Group formed immediately to help guide the entire process for ESWU going forward. It made a positive impact for OIFR, and look at them now compared to six months ago… well on their way to a healthy essential service for our community. Eradicate the entire Board and elect new Board members. Enough is enough. It’s a hot mess BEGGING for new management and leaders.
Toni…with all due respect…IMHO the chaos at OIFR was solved by the election of three new commissioners who accepted the resignation of a chief who was not doing her job.
Fred … with all due respect …. Toni and more than a dozen concerned citizens formed a Stability Group that helped elect three new commissioners to OIFR and crafted and promoted by much of the successful new fire levy. The fire chief had not filed legal action against one of the new commissioners when this group was formed … that came about two hours after their first meeting. The Stability Group focused on the concept of full public disclosure to establish trust in the fire district. The fundamental issue with the fire chief was failure to understand and respect that fire commissioners are the governing board of a fire district and that Washington State laws define the roles of the Commissioners and the contracted head of the government agency, in this case the fire chief.
Toni suggested the same type concerned citizens process be considered for ESWU, although that isn’t a government agency.
It worked for OIFR, and it’s a suggestion that should be given serious consideration.
I am more appalled by the baseless accusations and expensive lawsuits brought against our NON PROFIT community water association. Such a waste of time, resources, money and makes it very difficult on the staff, who works very hard to support us, the members who are grateful for this service.
It’s also disturbing to me that three board members are part of the lawsuit against EWUA! Nothing you say can support your poor choice in suing our NON PROFIT water association. It is totally irresponsible of you as board members. I support recalling Anderson, Cook and Claus.
I am drinking the water, not this recall koolaid.
If you think the accusations are “baseless,” Vicki, then you clearly haven’t read the thoroughly documented White Paper on the Recall Water website:
https://recallwater.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ThingsFallApart615.pdf
I urge you to read it carefully and then reconsider whether your recommendations make any sense.
Lin,
You are the editor of a local community-based news source. The news is initiated by people sending you material to publish and then you allow others in the community to add their thoughts and comments. From this comes a more cohesive view of the facts and opinions presented.
The speculation about motives of members and directors at Eastsound Water Users Association is confusing. But the facts about what has happened are not.
When the General Manager of a local non-profit public utility coooperative submits emails to you you, that General Manager and the Board of the cooperative should expect that it will be published and the comments will flow naturally from what is written.
The integrity of The Orcasonian as a news source is disrupted by demands to remove material after publication due to the controversy that might follow. Those concerns should be addressed by the author before you receive it, not after. For that reason I discourage you from removing items or turning off comments at the request of the author. Those who submit items to you will then be more cautious.
An email with the same title as the item that you describe was sent to me and I presume other members of Eastsound Water Users at 7:30 pm Saturday night and signed “Eastsound Water Team.” Who is that anyway? The General Manager, and others? The email explained that a member of the EWUA used our court system in an effort to resolve a dispute over how the upcoming recall election will be held. The judge declined to order the relief requested.
But the email included more — the author called the member “the equivalent of a firestarter running around Eastsound” and indirectly a “pyromaniac.” Harsh and unnecessary words were used to allude to a member of EWUA and former board member as a criminal; it’s not confusing, and certainly inappropriate.
When these kind of statements are made by the General Manager of a large cooperative, they shouldn’t be hidden from view by the editor, but rather they be tested by the listeners in the forum to which they were submitted.
Moreover, when a the General Manager sends items to the a well known news editor I assume that Genreal Manager is acting with the approval of the majority of the elected board members. Then, all of those who approved the submission can be held accountable.
In my view, at the very least, a public apology for the email and the submission of the news story and this disruption would be an appropriate action by the General Manager and the Board, and the sooner the better.
This incident is yet another reason for the members of EWUA to reset the composition of the Board with a fairly run “snap” recall election, soon.
Clearly there is an appetite in the community for coverage of the EWUA.
I have interviewed many people in connection with this story, but it will be incomplete without the participation of Steve Smith.
The last time I asked Smith and Tenar Hall for an interview, all I got was a letter from their attorney.
So here is my sincere and professional request; Steve, will you sit down with me for an interview?
I apologize for making this request in public, but it beats going through the attorney route.
I am disturbed by the emails I received from the EWUA, one from EWUA signed ‘The Eastsound Water Team.’ Should the board and GM step down, and should the EWUA be turned into a district? This would stop all this misappropriation and voting questioning. The county seat would handle the voting, and the financials would be watched and double-watched. Not one penny would be wrongly spent. The situation has become volatile. The issues are no longer just hidden but vindictive. In one letter from the GM of EWUA, referencing his children. I am still not sure what that was for in the first place. I believe that turning the EWUA into a district will stop this nonsense. One of our EWUA is now a private association. The issues are not going away anytime soon, and I, for one, would not jump on the board due to the mismanagement in the last few years that continues to ensue. Honesty and integrity… I think not at this point. Let’s hire someone to add to our EWUA who is qualified and certified and has run a water system for a district. Let’s put the board to another vote; let’s turn it into a district. Or not, and continue to deal with this, I guess.
@Toni & Robert…I regret having given short shrift to your suggestion that a Stability Group process could be of value given the present turmoil at EWUA…in truth, I’d had no idea of its role in calming the waters at OIFR…so I do apologize. While I don’t agree with Toni’s suggestion to “eradicate the entire board” of EWUA, the notion of gathering a group of citizens committed to crafting a way forward has merit. In fact, back at the August 29, 2023 board meeting as the problems were becoming, public I proposed such an effort. Unfortunately the EWUA board had no interest in taking me up on it.
Why aren’t members demanding more answers on the forensic investigation paid by EWUA that states Dan Burke wrote checks to himself for over $20k for supposed vacation pay that isn’t allowed per EWUA policy. And the many other questionable excessive benefits and spending by Dan that was noticed by the investigation but not followed up with by any other professional investigator or law enforcement. Just another odd thing that’s been brought up frequently but never fully answered or understood and still not addressed by EWUA.
The simple answer to your question, Jim Goodall, is that it takes a Board majority to refer such matters to the Sheriff (or state Attorney General) for further investigation, and that Board majority doesn’t exist yet. Beginning early last fall, Robert Austin, Fred Klein and I did not consider a recall the correct approach to achieving that goal and instead published an Orcasonian article urging EWUA members to use the Association’s electoral process to make the needed changes. But Board President Teri Nigretto and Vice President Jim Nelson have subverted that goal and managed to manipulate the (botched) election’s aftermath to keep the dominant board faction in power. That is why we have reluctantly changed our minds and decided to add our voices to the Recall Water effort originated by Tenar Hall and Steve Smith. For more information on how to add your own voice to this effort, see https://recallwater.com/index.php/forms/.
Michael, is there no mechanism for members to refer to the Attorney General?
Why aren’t members demanding more answers on the forensic investigation?
I attempted to ask a question based on the Acuity Forensics Investigation Report at a monthly EWUA meeting. The Manager immediately attacked me verbally and accused me of providing misinformation to “these good people” in the audience. I’m not alone. Other members have been verbally attacked at the Post Office and in other public venues for asking questions about the report. So, the answer to your question is – they make it uncomfortable for members to ask questions about the report. After being publicly humiliated, I asked Mr. Burke, “are you telling me Acuity Forensics lied?” To which he responded. “No.” “I’m telling you that we didn’t agree with all of the findings”. Not one board officer stepped up to stop the attack. Apparently, it’s accepted practice to bully, intimidate and harass members for asking legitimate questions at a public meeting of the members.
Here is the letter I officially sent to the EWUA today; as a member, I want the water rights maintained better in administration and board. The change from an association to a district will stop this situation and prevent it from continuing. But that is just me and others who are wondering why we are waiting to fix this? This will allow for, as the board states, ‘let the past be in the past,’ and yet we can move on to a safer future.
To the Board of EWUA and the members,
I would like to propose that the board and members decide to move the Eastsound Water Users Association to a WATER DISTRICT. This will protect the precious commodity of water in and with our users now and in the future from any issues we are dealing with in our unfunctional association.
By transitioning from our current private EWUA to a DISTRICT, we can mitigate the risks of misappropriating funds, resolve board issues, and protect membership rights. This change would also eliminate any future discussions about privatization, if such discussions are even relevant at this point.
I propose that the board and membership act as soon as possible to ensure the safety of our precious water. They have stated that individuals “plan to take over EWUA and turn it into an employee-owned company.” So, let us take action so that no one can destroy our water rights.
I propose that EWUA stop fighting with the community, which feels “target on my (your) back,” and start looking at what changing to a district will take and proceed as a protection.
Like many, I am tired of this situation, and we are ready for the board and EWUA to take action to stop it and improve the association.
If this remains not an option, I, like many others, will understand that both sides are not ready to protect the members of our water system; thus, all board members have stated that they are only here to protect the members.
Thank you
Melissa Lowry
I think this is an excellent idea, Melissa, but the devil may be in the details. It’s abundantly clear that the current EWUA General Manager is desperately in need of adult supervision — and that the current Board of Directors is not providing it. Maybe this is the way to obtain the proper oversight.
As Elisabeth Britt explained today in her Orcasonian article, “Can they really sell Eastsound Water Users Association out from under us?”
https://theorcasonian.com/guest-opinion-can-they-really-sell-eastsound-water-users-association-out-from-under-us/, the transfer process may be difficult. And it would require resounding approval of the Board and membership. We will probably need to elect a new Board to achieve that kind of consensus.
Eastsound Sewer and Water District owns much of the water rights on which EWUA depends, so they would have to be intimately involved in any such transfer. Perhaps the best way forward is to merge EWUA into ESWD, which already has the district governance structure to work with. But they’d have to be willing to do so, and I have little idea of the complexities involved.
Melissa, I appreciate that you are thinking seriously with us and offering a specific idea
The Office of the Attorney General only acts through its clients, that is, state or in some cases, municipal officers. The AG office has no jurisdiction over the EWUA as it is a private nonprofit with no charitable function (where the AG could step in). If the EWUA were a water district, the Office of the State Auditor would regularly audit it, and if there were problems left unresolved internally, the AG’s office would take action.
Looking at the EWUA’s articles of incorporation alone, they are clearly outdated and might, when the dust settles, be updated. People interested in a water district might look closely at the statutory section of the state’s law code concerning water districts and see whether one could be formed independently and out from under the EWUA, coupled with a review of the documents relating to existing eater rights and facilities, some of which might be obtainable from the sewer district.
As the local inhouse snark and mild mannered provocateur my personal opinion is that unless it is factually incorrect (in which case, a simple “edit: correction” should suffice), not libel, or you receive a request from a lawyer, it should remain accessible.
If they’re opinion pieces, again, they should remain up – and if the person that wrote the opinion piece doesn’t want the piece up, then as you say, they shouldn’t send you the stuff to begin with.
~S