In Carson: Employees illegally fired after vote dissolves Silver Springs GID board

By next month, the Silver Springs General Improvement District Board of Trustees will have changed from the current five-member elected board to one made up of five Lyon County Commissioners.

The commissioners voted 5-0 Thursday to approve an ordinance dissolving the current GID board of trustees and installing itself as the ex-officio board after listening to testimony about budget problems, plant deterioration and discord among the trustees and employees, and concerns from Nevada Department of Environmental Protection officials.

The change will become final on July 7, after the county meets the legal requirement of publishing the decision in the local newspaper for two weeks.

The GID, which operates a sewage treatment plant in Silver Springs, recently hired a new manager, Kelly Harkins, and has two operators and a part-time office assistant. Interim County Manager Bob Hadfield said just after the decision nothing in the status of the employees would change.

However, three members of the GID board, Bob Freeman, Trudy Kolsch and Chrysti Barbee, got together after the commission decision and held a meeting during which they voted to fire all GID employees. The other two board members, Kay Bennett and Bob Wells, were not part of that action.

News of the trustees' vote came several hours after the commissioners made their decision at about 11:30 a.m., with Hadfield reporting that Harkins called him with the new information.

Hadfield said the firings were not legal because the trustees' meeting was not legal, since there was no public notice given. Any action taken at an illegal meeting is also not legal, he said.

Commissioner LeRoy Goodman advised Hadfield to notify the sheriff's department.

"We need to make sure they are not in harm's way and the plant is not in harm's way," he said. "If they'll do this, there's no telling what else they'll do."

Hadfield drafted a letter demanding the trustees rehire the staff and cease any activities that would cause damage to the plant or its employees and sent the letter to Freeman, hand-carried by a sheriff's deputy.

He said later Freeman couldn't be located, and the sheriff's office will continue to try to locate him to deliver the letter.

"We have sent people to go out and check the plant and the last word I had is everything is all right, the plant is secure, the employees are staying on board and I will be out there tomorrow morning," Hadfield said. "There will be continuous visits by the sheriff's office to monitor the plant's security."

During the public hearing, the second one in as many weeks on the issue, two Lyon County staff members shared their concerns.

Comptroller Josh Foli said the GID had not budgeted for depreciation at all and the operating revenue is not keeping up with operating expenditures.

"They are not covering operating expenses, let along depreciation, if they spend what they budgeted," he said. "Those are major concerns."

He said the GID was using nonoperating revenues such as interest payments that were keeping them solvent for now, but that income is not reliable and should be used for operation and maintenance.

Foli also said that he has not been able to reconcile cash collection accounts since October.

In anticipation of having to assist the GID, Lyon County Utilities Director Mike Workman said he met with NDEP officials to learn about the condition of the sewage treatment plant.

"They told me that the plant has been out of compliance for quite some time," he said.

He said that although NDEP was not at the Silver Springs plant on a regular basis, some of the problems might have been corrected.

Among NDEP's concerns were the air system to the basins were shut down to save on power, adding to a heavy buildup of sludge in the basins; the general plant and equipment maintenance has been inadequate; and the effluent delivery system and compliance permit needs work.

The department was also concerned that too much interference from the board of trustees was not allowing the staff to operate the way the plant was designed. An engineering firm was hired to do an expansion study, but NDEP has seen no report.

The commissioners made no decision on who would be responsible for the plant after July 7, but Workman has said he would recommend keeping it in-house and work with current staff.

Unlike the first public hearing in Silver Springs on June 14, more residents rose to speak in favor of the commission action. Several, including developer Gregory Peek, former board member Margaret Ruckman and former commissioner Chet Hillyard accused the trustees of stifling business development with their decisions and antics.

Former board member Bill Holler and Silver Springs Advisory Council Chairman Pat Geurts spoke in favor of leaving the GID board as it is.

Freeman, the chairman of the trustees, said those who oppose him have their own agenda.

"They want to get their hands on the GID for their own personal benefit," he said.

Commissioner Bob Milz said there was little else to do but dissolve the current board because of the continuous turmoil. He added that at the Silver Springs meeting, some residents were afraid to talk.

"This is a $20 million facility," he said. "Evidence supports the fact that it's been mismanaged. We cannot afford for citizens of the community to bear the burden for those bonds."