Cottonwood Creek Watershed Group asks SO to investigate

The Cottonwood Creek Watershed Group is in dire straits, and its board members have asked the Shasta County Sheriff's Office to investigate how it got there, board member Jim Busher said Sept. 30 in a telephone conversation. The board has also planned an emergency meeting for Oct. 14 to find out what the community wants to do with the group.

The group ran out of money to pay two vendors who were performing grant-funded work, according to Dan Lang, grant manager of the California Fire Safe Council, in a telephone interview on Friday.

The group owes about $26,500 to two local contractors and additional debts that may cost the group about $100,000, board member Rick Ortega estimated on Friday in an interview at the Valley Post.

"The organization is on life support at the moment," Busher said.

The council originally awarded the $54,735 grant to the group for the Platina Community Field Grant project, according to Lang.

The council is "looking for (the group) to make a full accounting of the funds," Lang said, adding that the council expects a refund of any funds not paid to vendors or to the administration costs of the grant.

"We don't know whether it's criminal or accounting errors or misjudgment. We don't know," Busher said.

The council doesn't know either. After asking for receipts and personnel records, Lang said the council still can't tell where the funds have gone. Lang added the council was seeking advice from their attorney on how to proceed.

Multiple attempts to contact the group at their Main Street office failed last week. No one appeared to work there to open the office or take calls. The last person to work at the office was a volunteer, who left sometime in September, Ortega said.

Three of the group's remaining four board members have issued resignations, Busher said.

All board members aside from Busher have requested resignation, but the group's bylaws requires replacements before the last four may resign, Busher said. As of last week, the board consisted of Busher, Ortega, Jim Curry and Judy Huddleston, according to Busher. A fifth board member, Ron Meyer, resigned in August or September, Busher said.

The board sought the assistance of the sheriff's office after a banking expert in the community member could not help the group find answers.

The shortage in funds was first brought to the board's attention in a July board meeting by Al Pierce, Busher said.

"Initially hired to be the executive director, once we ... discovered we didn't have money to operate on, he offered to work for a work at the group for a dollar a month," Busher said.

Pierce has since left the group, he said.

The previous executive director, Brynn Nolan, left the group on June 30.

What about the watershed?

To find out what the Cottonwood community wants to do with its watershed group, the board announced an emergency meeting Oct. 14, 6-9 p.m. at the Cottonwood Community Center, 20595 Gas Point Rd.

Busher said the group will disclose all the information it can about the group's present dilemma to the community and find out what should be done about control of the watershed.

Some agency will step in, Busher said, adding that it is up to the community whether it be a local group or government agency.

"If there isn't local support, control will revert to agencies of the government," Busher said on Thursday by telephone.

Busher said a local group can be more responsive to community needs and provide better service to stakeholders.

"If people want to maintain local control of watershed, (they) need to be there," he said on Friday. "People in the community need to make the decision."