eID Cost of Service analyst bid selected

from Mountain Democrat, Friday, March 24, 2023

Blaze destroys China Hill Road residence

Michael Raffety

Mountain Democrat correspondent

With a full board in attendance

March 13, directors of the El Dorado Irrigation District voted 4-1 to accept the midrange bid for a cost-of-service analysis by NBS.

Director Lori Anzini shifted her vote from the Feb. 27 meeting when she and Director Alan Day voted for the lowest total cost bid. At the March 13 meeting Day was the sole no vote. For the March 13 meeting additional analysis revealed the lowest total bid

COMiCS n SHOE by Jeff MacNelly had the higher average cost per hour — $217.60 per hour compared to the midrange bid at $212.77 per hour.

The lowest total proposal came from Raftellis at $83,777. The proposal recommended by staff was NBS at $115,750. NBS is familiar with EID’s complex system, having previously done a cost-of-services analysis for the district and was proposing to meet with staff in person and review records instead of via Zoom meetings. Raftellis would work through Zoom n See EiD page A8 n TUNDRA by Chad Carpenter

Courtesy photo

Paramedics Brian Duffy, left, and Brad Gates had the honor of returning Medic 49 to service in Diamond Springs March 15.

Medic 49

Continued from A1 staff while being hosted by Diamond Springs-El Dorado Fire Protection District at Station 49 in Diamond Springs. This cooperative approach is making this endeavor possible and fills an important void in the county’s emergency medical services system, note fire district officials.

El Dorado County Emergency Services Authority (West Slope JPA) oversees the eight West Slope ambulances operated daily by local fire agencies. These ambulances directly serve approximately 150,000 county residents. El Dorado County Fire provides the service for five of the eight n RUBES by Leigh Rubin n SPEED BUMP by Dave Coverly

JPA ambulances.

Prior to the shut down of Medic 49 last year, it was the second busiest medic unit in the system, running more than 3,200 incidents annually, according to the news release.

Medic 49’s re-opening will be officially recognized during a ceremony at Station 49 Saturday, March 25, beginning at 11 a.m. During the ceremony the new paramedic ambulance operators will be sworn in and receive their badges. A ribbon cutting will follow to commemorate the return of Medic 49 to the 911 system.

Solutions to puzzles in Classified section of newspaper.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). You’ll make an impression on someone without trying to. In fact, not trying is the secret to your charm. You’ve thought about the image you wanted to portray, but it turns out that you are at your magnetic best when you’re just being yourself.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Keeping up with the world can have you feeling simultaneously connected and sad. Choose your input carefully. This is an excellent day to clean up your social media feeds and find sources of news and entertainment that are likely to bring uplift.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Delineations of right and wrong do not seem as clear-cut to you as they once did. To think of morality in terms of helping and harming could make this easier. Who or what will be helped or harmed? Know this before you make your move.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). Expecting to get it right on the first try — or the first 10 tries for that matter — is silly, and possibly unkind. Be nice to yourself instead. Give yourself plenty of leeway to try what interests you whether or not you’re any good at it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Step back and let your loved ones learn and do on their own. You have better things to do than get involved in situations that don’t require your input. If you can get it, sunshine and exercise will be the self-care of happiness.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Just when things were in danger of growing monotonous, as if on cue the tedium is broken by a new challenge. You respond with swift action and a willingness to take risks. You have a way of minimizing the risk in your mind though, so it hardly feels like the coura- geous act that it is.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Because you care about someone, their lives and actions have impact on you. You ride along through the range of emotions that they are experiencing. This isn’t necessarily unhealthy codependency; rather, it’s part of the human social bond.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You’ll make superb decisions today, the sort that would not be possible had you not learned from past experience, most notably the mistakes. As you continue to build on your yesterdays, you’ll have an advantage in the game of life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You can’t see the fascinating aspects of yourself because they all seem so normal to you. However, your lovable quirks, talents and natural gifts will be seen and appreciated by others.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). When others around you feel comfortable, so do you. You’ll provide a safe space with encouraging words, an affirming smile, a healing touch. This, teamed with a great sense of timing, will make a difference in the lives of others.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Someone has to lead. The one in charge isn’t necessarily any more talented than the others on the team, but they have the role. Respect and defer to authority today because it makes everything run better.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Memories are malleable. The way you frame the past can change. It’s best to think of the past in a way that makes moving forward easy. Some of your old inspected in the south Tahoe area, 86 were labeled as damaged and nine deemed unsafe to occupy due to storm impacts. Snow buildup also led to road closures in the Tahoe Basin and on the West Slope, and caused roof damage in Camino and Pollock Pines.

Below are the five snow seasons with the most snowfall measured since the CSSL began keeping records in 1946. Snow seasons begin Oct. 1 and continue to Sept. 30.

• 1951-52 — 67.7 feet

• 2022-23 — 56.4 feet

• 1982-83 — 55.9 feet

• 2010-11 — 53.6 feet

• 1981-82 — 52 feet

Human rights Continued from A1

Snowfall Continued from A5 for its bias against and less than welcoming attitude toward people of color and minorities and this would seem to support that perspective,” Rossi writes. “That is exactly why there should be a Human Rights Commission. It is of no great cost to the county and does not consume taxpayer dollars. Even if it is at present functioning less than efficiently (which I heard is the reason for disbanding), it still serves a purpose and has the potential for improving. Despite multiple political issues around other commissions, they were not disbanded.”

The goal of the commission when it was formed in 2018 was to collect data on human rights violations in the county and make reports to the board while spreading awareness on human rights issues.

According to former commissioner Robin Valicenti, the county is losing that portal for marginalized people and “silencing many voices here in the county.”

“(The board’s) decision is negligent and poor governance and will cause harm to the homeless, LGBTQ individuals, refugees, everyone,” Valicenti told the Mountain Democrat.

Some constituents, as well as supervisors, felt the commission had gotten too political and lacked guidance on its duties, which Valicenti called “reframing the situation to justify removing the commission.”

“We were mostly a testimony-based commission, all about education and we never did anything political,” Valicenti said.

Although members of the board sit on the commission at any given time, Supervisor Lori Parlin previously stated a lack of resources provided by the county to the commission has made its operation difficult.

“This has been an item of concern for quite some time,” Parlin said Tuesday, referring a meeting held in 2020 regarding the commission when the board discussed giving commissioners

Piper Continued from A1 law enforcement revealed that Piper had hidden a recording device in a bathroom wall in a Groveland rental home.

The recordings were discovered while officers from the Placerville Police Department searched for evidence related to the discovery of Roman’s body in a storage bin in the basement of Piper’s rented Placerville home. Lopez was reported missing Jan. 11, 2020, and police located his body hours later. The video recordings in question were of a girl younger than 18, according to a previously filed complaint.

Law enforcement seized a digital camera, cell phone and storage device that contained recordings of the minor, including 433 naked pictures and videos of the girl using the bathroom and bathing other children, according to court documents.

Dec. 16-24, 2019, Piper allegedly sent texts to the minor regarding a sexual “Christmas gift,” asking her opinion. Investigators say Piper went on to send pictures to the minor and offer her $250 to use the “gift” on meetings and conduct one public meeting.

NBS also proposed more public meetings and outreach in addition to having a lower average cost per hour than Rafellis. NBS’s hours totaled 544 compared to 385 for Raftellis.

The proposals were reviewed by six senior and mid-level managers as representing “the best value.” NBS, with “an excellent track record of successful completion of similar studies for other agencies,” has proposed “approximately 40% more labor hours than Raftellis.”

Key staff of NBS has a combined 75 implicit bias training and other de-bias training.

“The reason there was a recommendation to disband (the commission) at that time was because there was risk to the county without proper training, so I feel like we are following that direction from back then,” Parlin added.

Then Chief Administrative Officer Don Ashton recommended either providing more resources to the commission or disbanding it altogether at that Sept. 29, 2020, meeting.

The board has bounced around ideas to address human rights issues at the government level, including implementing a county liaison to the El Dorado chapter of the nonprofit Bridging Divide, which addresses growing social and political disparities in communities, implementing a single civil rights commissioner and creating a statement in the board’s Good Governance Handbook stating its commitment of holding values of human rights.

While the latter is the only formal plan the county has, Board Chair Wendy Thomas said she is in talks with county Superintendent of Schools Ed Manansala to address discrimination issues in the county’s schools.

“We share your heart and we look forward to seeing which way this goes,” Thomas said, addressing the public.

Regardless, the public expressed disappointment in the board’s divided vote. Supervisors John Hidahl and Brooke Laine voted “no” on disbanding the commission.

“This (decision) reflects systematic racism and discrimination against the rights of others,” commented El Dorado Hills resident Esther Figueroa, who said she and her children have experienced racial profiling living in the county. “It is just excuses for government to close these doors and we cannot advance on these issues. It is a disregard for kids too because this affects them.” herself. years of experience compared to six years for Rafellis. a. It’s a fashion accessory. b. It hurts to sit on it. c. It protects you in a crash.

Piper is scheduled to return to court June 12 for sentencing, which may include 15-30 years in jail and fines totaling as much as $305,100. Criminal forfeiture of the recording devices and cell phone have also been stipulated in the amended complaint.

Piper and his wife Lindsay Piper have been in custody since February 2021 as suspects in the murder of Roman. Jordan additionally faces charges of torture and child abuse “under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily injury or death,” and failure to provide for a child.

Lindsay, who was also charged with poisoning, pleaded no contest to the second-degree murder of her stepson in May 2022. She is now serving a sentence of 15 years to life at the Central California Women’s Facility in Madera County.

Piper is in custody at the El Dorado County Jail and is scheduled to appear in El Dorado County Superior Court Dept. 1 at 8:30 a.m. June 27 for a preliminary hearing for a murder trial.

The highest proposal was from Carollo Engineers for $159,532.

The cost-of-service analysis will produce rate proposals for the next five years following a Proposition 218 notice to ratepayers. The last five-year rate structure produced 5% annual water rate increases and zero wastewater increases for the first three years.

Until the cost-of-service analysis is completed the rate structure cannot be predicted.

Using a car seat correctly prevents injury and helps keep children safe. Keep your child in a forward-facing seat until they reach 40 to 65 pounds or the height restriction of the seat. Use booster seats until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age. When your child reaches those limits, they can use lap and shoulder belts that fit properly and should remain in the back seat.

Find what each kid has in common with the others in the same row, across, up and down, and diagonally. (Hint: In the first row across, they all have caps.) Then look to see which kid does not have their seatbelt fastened correctly.

Take this quiz and find out.

1. Why wear a seatbelt?

2. Booster seats are for: a. astronauts. b. hockey fans. c. kids until they reach 4’ 9”.

3. Booster seats are great because: a. you ride high and can see out of the window. b. you ride high, so the belt doesn’t poke your neck. c. all of the above.

4. To sit in the front seat, you should be at least: a. 103 years old. b. 25 years old. c. 13 years old.

5. Wear your seatbelt: a. under your arm or behind your back. b. loose so you can move freely. c. snugly across the shoulder and chest, belt low on your hips. a. No. It’s rude. b. No. They’ll think you’re dumb. c. Yes. Otherwise, you could be seriously injured.

6. In someone else’s car, should you ask for help if the seatbelt doesn’t fit right?

Are you an eagle-eyed reader? Circle the errors in the article below. Then, rewrite it correctly.

Last Teusday, our class read read an article in the newsppaer about the importance of child safety booster seats. In cars.

The article sad that 80-90% of kids who should be in child safety booster seats are not. Children who are 4'9" and and under should be using these seats insted of adult safety belts when traveling.

The kids in this car are buckled up and ready to go. Help this family find their way to the park.

Have a parent try. Who found the most differences?

How many differences can you find between these two pictures?

PASSENGER SEATBELT SHOULDER BOOSTER INJURY SAFETY WEIGHT