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Tiede’s out, Johnston comments, Arkens parties

Mono County Director of Social Services Julie Tiede confirmed this week that she would not renew her contract with the County upon its expiration in April 2013.

Tiede said that whomever the County hires as the new Director would take over responsibilities such as the subcontract between Mono County and the Eastern Sierra Area Agency on Aging, as well as the remainder of her duties.

She did not have any comment on the reason(s) why she chose not to renew, but Mono County CAO Jim Arkens did voice his thoughts.

“Julie is one of our stellar department heads who’s working 12 hour days,” Arkens said. “I think she was disappointed when the Board [of Supervisors] rejected the idea of Julie overseeing the Mental Health Department when Ann Gimpel left.”

Robin Roberts was hired to take Gimpel’s place but needed some time to get up to speed. According to Arkens, Tiede asked for more money to oversee the department, which is why the Board rejected the idea.

Supervisor Larry Johnston confirmed that giving Tiede more money to run the department on an interim basis was not what the Board had wanted to do at the time.

“It was quite a bit extra,” Johnston said. He added that his understanding had been that Tiede was planning to retire, but would have stayed on longer if the extra money had been approved.

In relation to recent hiring and reshuffling within the County, Johnston added that the Board of Supervisors is at a disadvantage when it comes to personnel.

“We’re not working with them on a daily basis,” Johnston said, adding that the process has always been that the Board hires the CAO and County Counsel. It is then up to the CAO to do the hiring and firing for the rest of the employees.

“I don’t know about any preferential treatment,” he said.

“The HR Director processes the applications, does the interviews, etc.,” Johnston said, ”but the CAO makes the ultimate decision on whom to hire and fire. I don’t think we need a HR Director right now,” he added in reference to the criticism that Arkens wears both the CAO and HR Director hats and therefore has too much power.

“We are looking at hiring an HR Director at some point but it is not a necessity and it [the consolidation] is saving the County money,” he concluded.

Johnston felt that a lot of the commotion circulating throughout the County at this time stemmed from the Luman Personnel Appeals Board case. He pointed out that having a HR Director in place might not have made a difference in that situation.

Most recently, Arkens approved the hiring of Aimee Brewster as Assistant Assessor. Johnston believed Brewster would likely be appointed Interim Assessor as well. Her contract goes before the Board for approval on Tuesday. Brewster, along with one or two others, applied from within the County for the Assistant Assessor position, Johnston said.

Arkens holds housewarming

The Sheet received a complaint from Mono County resident Paul Betlach who was “outraged” that Mono County CAO had planned a housewarming party for this Friday, Sept. 28 beginning at 3 p.m.

“Were these invitations made on County Supplies, County Time, by County Employees,” Betlach’s email asked. And are County employees expected to take time off work to attend the party?

“This is a harmless housewarming,” Arkens contested. “The invitations were not made with any County supplies or on County time. Stacey Westerlund [Payroll and Benefits Manager] and Nancy Boardman [Animal Control Director] offered to arrange the party for me. They made the invitations on their own time and with their own supplies and Stacey hand delivered them to employees.

“I planned the party for Friday beginning at 3 p.m. so that those employees who have Friday off would still be able to attend. I wanted everyone to have a chance to swing by and since Fridays are flex days for many people I wanted to catch them before they headed out of town. It is not a paid county function.”

Imagine you are Mammoth Lakes Town Councilmember Jo Bacon. Now, imagine you are Bacon looking up and finding yourself under a political bus, asking yourself, “How in the heck did I get here?” Good question. The answer: former Town Community Development Director Mark Wardlaw.

Well, not Wardlaw himself, but rather local developer and entrepreneur Jim Demetriades. It seems that recently the development-conservative Bacon was mentioned in a “Comments” exchange on The Sheet’s website between Demetriades and local Ken Warner over an item The Sheet published regarding Wardlaw’s resignation from the Town to take a new post with the County of San Diego. (He finished his tenure with the Town on Thursday.)

What seems to have triggered the exchange was a note by Sheet Publisher Lunch that read, “Editors Note: On the downside, it took about 60 public meetings to shepherd through the Old Mammoth Place project, which never got built  — a fair microcosm of Wardlaw’s tenure.”

Old Mammoth Place developer Demetriades took issue with that point, and championed Wardlaw in a reply, saying in part, “Mark Wardlaw did a great job on Old Mammoth Place. And as the owner I was very happy with his work. The issue is with those that call themselves the Advocates (I call them the UNadvocates), including people like Jo Bacon and that destroyed Mammoth. They tried to shut down every project they could and chased away all the possible revenue there was. Hence, nothing got done nor will it, until people appreciate development. More June Lake, anyone?”

Warner chimed in, supporting Bacon, writing, “And thank God for people like Bacon and the UNAdvocates who see through the lies and empty promises, and do what they can to protect us from big money, special interest carpetbaggers … It’s not development that is bad. It’s bad development that is bad, and your Old Mammoth Place was B. A. D. and was a great example of how to destroy a neighborhood.”

Dating back almost three years prior to Bacon’s election to Council in 2008 (after serving on Mammoth’s Planning Commission), OMP first debuted as The Clearwater, but subsequently went through the hands of different architects, partner changes (former partner Rick Rosenberg was ousted) and a name change to Old Mammoth Place. Almost from the outset, the project drew a raft of criticism, not only with regards to zoning, but also height (and its potential viewshed impacts on the nearby mountains and other scenery) and density.

How did Bacon end up in the line of fire? She has no idea. “I don’t know where this is coming from,” she said. “I voted on the Neighborhood District Plan for that area, but that was more community centric. I recused myself on any voting on his specific project, since I have property close to it, well within the margin establishing conflict of interest.”

In June 2009, when Council initially approved a maximum height for the site of 55 feet, site considerations and an architectural “oversight” prompted Demetriades to request an additional 9.5 feet of height for some proposed buildings.

Late Councilmember Skip Harvey didn’t care for the rationalizations. “This is about a manmade structure dominating the landscape,” he said. “This project will be 30 to 40 feet higher than surrounding properties … I need to show the people of this community I take our General Plan seriously.”

In April 2010, Demetriades weathered a major hurricane, when he and attorney Mark Carney, the project’s legal counsel, persuaded Town Council to reject an appeal of the use-permit and tentative tract map during a contentious four-hour meeting that involved lots of heated public comment. Bacon abstained. In December 2010, after numerous appearances before Planning Commissioners and Council for a variety of issues, Council voted 3-1 to uphold a 4-1 Planning Commission decision to grant a District Zoning Amendment. The most controversial part of the DZA was the part about measurement of height. Bacon again abstained.

Cut to present day and in the current economic environment, any such major development as OMP is completely at a standstill. That, however, doesn’t mean that as a conversation piece development is a totally dead issue, just dormant. After all, once the MLLA settlement is put to bed, development will almost certainly be revived as topic of conversation again.

“We all want Mammoth to succeed,” Demetriades noted, but added that there is a difference between grand ideas [i.e. year round Olympic class ice rinks, Olympic aquatic training facilities, etc., as suggested by Warner] and reality.” Individual big name donors build those types of multi-million dollar amenities in resort locations that can sustain them, Demetriades indicated. “There’s no money for those,” he went on to say. “Do you think the Town has the money? Do you think June Lake has the money? And if you do have that kind of big money, why would you go to Mammoth first? We have to grab the bull by the horns and quit living in fantasy land.”

The crux of the issue is development and its future, as well as what that means to the next generation of job seekers. “My big concern: all those college kids with four-year degrees, none of whom can make a mortgage payment,” he stated.

He’s bearish on development scene, calling for a flat market at best for the next few years, barring some significant changes. “If Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is sold in the next 12 to 24 months, and there’s say $100 million in improvements put into the Main Lodge and so on, then all bets are off,” he opined. Failing that, if President Obama is re-elected, he’s not optimistic about anything happening until the administration after that. And if Mitt Romney is elected, he says only, “We’ll see.”

As for Bacon, she said she welcomes any new discussion, and in fact agrees with Demetriades on at least one point. “It has to sustainable, and in keeping with the reality of the market today, as opposed to what it was five or six years ago,” she told The Sheet. If some of that involves taking another look at entitlements for stalled hotel/condo projects, so be it. “Look at the Altis project, as an example. They came to the Town and said we can’t build it and get it to pencil without adding single-family homes. Great, go for it,” she added.

For several weeks, there was a sign outside Perry’s Italian Cafe proclaiming that The Stove was coming. The sign also bore The Stove’s logo.

The apparent plan of Cafe owner Glenn Taylor was to operate both The Stove (breakfast and lunch) and Perry’s (dinner) out of one location.

Whether this plan can be implemented, however, is for the courts to decide.

Destination Mammoth

Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory held a “fireside chat” with Disabled Sports Eastern Sierra staff and volunteers on Tuesday. After the meeting, I received the following email: “ … The report my wife heard from a friend who was at the meeting was that Rusty Gregory was there and said he is abandoning the goal of being a Destination Resort in favor of being family friendly, with most folks coming from Southern California, and a few from San Francisco––or something to that effect.”

So I called Rusty yesterday for comment. His reply: “Not close to accurate.”

Gregory said MMSA is redoubling its marketing efforts in Southern California, which he says is also the best way to build destination business. In a nutshell: Take care of your base and the rest will follow.

Gregory also said MMSA is hyper-focused on the family market, which represents 48% of its business.

Fesko and Peters rejoined 

Tim Fesko and Bob Peters renewed their battle for the District 4 Supervisor’s seat in Mono County by facing off at a Republican Party candidates’ night on Tuesday in Bridgeport.

My observation: Fesko is coming on strong. This will be competitive. Despite several questions which attempted to push Fesko’s buttons on a variety of topics, notably the legal entanglement with his brother Greg, he kept his cool.

And smartly, Fesko settled the suit and a gag order has been issued by the judge so it will no longer be a factor in the campaign.

Greg Fesko said via email, “Due to gag order as part of the settlement of the lawsuit I cannot provide any details. Tim and his wife Mary settled with us and the matter is closed. Wish I could go into more detail because it would make for some interesting reading.”

Anyway, as I see it, you’ve got a “Thousand Points of Light. Stay the Course” moderate Republican in Peters taking on a Tea Party-type in Fesko.

Some differences in their policy positions are stark.

While Fesko believes that North County would be better served by marketing to the Reno area and over in Sacramento, Peters said, “Our major market is Southern California. He ranked the Central Valley #2.

In some areas, however, they see things similarly.

In regard to County management, Peters said, “Too much power is concentrated in too few hands at the moment.”

Fesko believes the tail is wagging the dog, that the current Board has ceded too much power to CAO Jim Arkens. “Upper management is dominating the Board,” he said.

And while consolidating departments looks great on paper and theoretically saves money, “we may be opening ourselves up to a huge lawsuit because we do not have the proper layers [of government],” he added.

As an example, he pointed out that Arkens now has three management titles. not only is he the County Administrator, but he’s also the Assessor and head of Human Resources.

So imagine this, said Fesko. How does anyone make a complaint against the CAO? To make a complaint, you have to go through H.R, er, the CAO.

And if the CAO is the H.R. manager … boy, it sure sounds like you’ve got to suck up to Jim Arkens if you want a career at the County, because if you happen to fall into disfavor, he’s the same dude who’s gonna conduct the job interviews. Judge, jury and prosecutor all rolled into one – and all with the blind support and allegiance of the Supervisors who made him king; Hunt, Bauer and Hazard.

It’ll be interesting to see how Arkens counts to three once a new Board sits in January. Can he replace Bauer and Hazard with two of the three newly elected members of the Board?

In regard to the Probation Department position filled this week, The Sheet spoke to CAO Jim Arkens on Thursday. He said he was not involved in the interview process, contradicting what Tim Hansen said in Kirkner’s story on page six.

He said the interview panel consisted of Brian Muir, Tim Kendall and Julie Tiede, and that there were six or seven applicants for the job.

Karen Humiston was the second person extended an offer. The first person offered the job did not take it.

When asked why the Interim Director had not been offered the job, Arkens said, “Interims have the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities.” He suggested we talk to Tim Kendall, as the D.A.’s department has a lot of interaction with probation.

“I didn’t make the ultimate decision … I don’t know why the CAO would refer you over to me,” said Kendall. “In regards to the interaction with our department, she [the Interim] did fine. She did a qualified job.”

“I sit in on multiple interview panels,” he added. “We rank ‘em qualified or unqualified.”

The frustration in the air was almost tangible on Tuesday as the Mono County Board of Supervisors kicked off its afternoon session with a discussion regarding the Old Sheriff Substation.

“We have a tendency to throw burdens in the way of this business,” stated Supervisor Larry Johnston as he led a discussion to allow the development of basic living quarters and a museum for the building’s current occupant, Jim Ouimet, owner and operator of Mammoth Dog Teams.

Ouimet has been operating out of the Substation for nine years and did have living quarters and a museum until about three years ago. Septic and water issues were identified at the site and since then, Ouimet has been unable to open his museum to the public and has also been told he cannot have any living quarters at the site. The fate of the building, and therefore his business, has been in limbo ever since.

While the water issues still remain, Johnston championed allowing Ouimet to reopen the museum and reinstall basic living quarters on Tuesday.

“He just needs a place to lay his head, flush a toilet, and wash some dishes,” Johnston said. “We can give him what he needs for cheap.”

But supervisors Vikki Bauer and Hap Hazard strongly disagreed.

“The building use was abused,” Hazard said, referring to alleged attempts to break into the building by Ouimet after he was told he could not be there. The break-ins led the County to board up the windows on the building. The boards remain in place today.

“The building is a disaster,” Hazard continued. “It has arsenic and E. coli, and the septic system is too close to the well. History has been grossly misrepresented and amended here today.”

Bauer agreed. At first she tried to politely wave the situation away by blaming the mess at the Substation on “poor direction” from the County.

“Let’s wait until the three new Board members are seated in January,” Bauer suggested. “I’m not interested in putting a dwelling unit in. We can’t open up a can of worms of ignoring rules. Rehabbing is not the answer.

“Three weeks ago we turned down giving $100,000 to June Lake because we didn’t want to fund private business,” she continued. “What’s different here? We need to be consistent with Board decisions, so we should wait for a new Board [before dealing with this].”

“If we’re going to wait for a new Board then let’s take the rest of the year off and not make any decisions,” Supervisor Tim Hansen shot back. “Don’t make these things insurmountable. And, Vikki, we did end up supporting June Lake.”

“But it didn’t go to private business,” Bauer retorted (the funding will be funneled through the County’s Tourism Commission). “And I don’t agree with Larry.”

Johnston pointed out that by January the Eastern Sierra would be in the middle of winter, which would make it difficult for the improvements to be made. He pushed again to get the ball rolling now.

Hazard, Bauer and Mono County Director of Risk Management Rita Sherman were concerned with the legalities of reopening the museum and allowing a dwelling unit, but in Johnston’s opinion, “the County doesn’t have to follow its regulations.”

County Counsel Marshall Rudolph, however, pointed out the County does have to follow state building regulations.

Hansen and Johnston continued to push.

“We need to decide right off the bat if we want you to fail or succeed,” Hansen said to Ouimet.

“How can we, at minimal cost, accommodate Ouimet at the facility,” Johnston asked staff. “Let’s dwell on making it work.”

In his defense, Ouimet stated, “I would like to live without fear [of being shut down] and run my business. I haven’t had a lease since 2008 and I’ve lost a lot of sponsors because of this uncertainty.”

Hazard continued to be skeptical of Ouimet’s financial situation. “Why are we rushing to help him when we don’t know how much he has in his own pockets,” Hazard told The Sheet.

Through it all, Johnston was able to build consensus amongst Hansen and Supervisor Byng Hunt, who was highly in favor of getting the museum reopened and wanted to keep the building as “rustic and simple as possible.”

“At least three of us want to see minimalist accommodations for Ouimet and we want to support him to work toward full utilization of the substation,” Johnston told The Sheet in a follow up phone call on Wednesday. “We want to give him a chance to sustain his business.”

Consensus also included exploring the reimbursement of Ouimet for caretaker services (there hasn’t been any vandalism at the Substation since Ouimet has been down there, Johnston said). This could cancel out the rent that Ouimet is supposed to pay for using the property and just end up being a wash.

Johnston said he believed there was enough in the County housing fund to make the improvements he was suggesting.

“Nothing needs to come out of the General Fund,” he said. “I think we could get the safety and fire issues fixed for about $50,000.”

Full remodel estimates for the building from Sherman came in just under $470,000.

Johnston and staff will meet next week to further vet the details.

“I don’t know how he is as a businessman,” Johnston concluded over the phone, referring to Ouimet. “I just don’t want the County to be the reason he goes out of business.”

Mono County CAO responds to his critics 

“I’m a Human Resources Director, I’ve had to discipline and terminate a lot of people over my career. A lot of people probably don’t like me.”

Mono County CAO/Human Resources Director/Public Works Director Jim Arkens has been the subject of recent scrutiny. Two incidents from his past have led some Mono County citizens to question  whether or not he is a liability to county taxpayers.

Describing himself as an open book, Arkens sat down with The Sheet to discuss the two incidents, as well as the ups and downs in Mono County during his first year as CAO.

Past

The first incident was his involvement in an arbitration case at Holy Cross Hospital in Taos, New Mexico.

According to a U.S. District Court memorandum, over Memorial Day weekend of 2004, “a nurse in the labor and delivery unit of Holy Cross Hospital, was assigned to monitor a fetus that subsequently died during childbirth.” The Hospital alleged that the fetal demise was a result of patient care failures by the nurse. As a result of the incident, the Hospital requested that the nurse transfer to a different unit. When she refused, she was terminated.

“I had only been at the hospital for two months,” Arkens explained. “I wasn’t involved in the termination. I was given the arbitration and that was it.”

Following the outcome of the arbitration, the hospital was ordered to reinstate the nurse, but instead reassigned her to non-nursing duties, according to an article from a Taos newspaper. The nurse did not want to be reassigned so the hospital offered her $50,000 to resign, which she accepted.

Following this result, Arkens wrote an email to the National Labor Relations Board, which was investigating the hospital’s actions. According to another Taos newspaper article, the nurse then filed a complaint claiming that in the email, Arkens wrote, “We had to bring back a nurse who murdered a baby.”

“You say things to friends that you wouldn’t say otherwise,” Arkens told The Sheet. “It wasn’t supposed to go public.”

But it did and the nurse attempted to sue Arkens and the hospital for defamation. Arkens denied any wrongdoing and the lawsuit was eventually dismissed.

He pointed out that when he arrived at Holy Cross, union relations were strained. The union posted the nurse’s settlement check publicly to emphasize a union victory.

“It was a death but people took it lightly and it was all about money,” Arkens said. “It was the CEO’s choice [to offer the settlement], not mine. There is a huge liability to bring someone back who has been involved in a death.”

He pointed out that he stayed at the hospital for five and a half more years after the incident occurred.

A second incident that has recently been brought to the surface revolves around Arkens’ departure from his position as County Administrative Coordinator in Shawano County, Wis. Arkens submitted his resignation in March 2004, but was put on paid administrative leave by the Shawano County Board several weeks before his planned March 31, 2004 departure date.

“I put in my resignation and then the Board Chair put me on paid administrative leave,” Arkens said. “It’s common practice that when a top level position resigns, he isn’t wanted around anymore.”

News reports at the time described a strained relationship between Arkens and the Board Chair.

“He was known to say ‘I should have never hired the damn Catholic’,” Arkens said of the Chair’s attitude toward him.

“I chose to leave,” he added. “I didn’t like the community.” Subsequently, the Chair was removed, according to Arkens.

In both cases, Arkens said he didn’t do anything wrong. In response to some recent questions as to why the Mono County Board of Supervisors didn’t catch these things during Arkens’ background check, he pointed out that there was nothing criminal about either incident, so nothing would appear in a background check.

Arkens was originally hired on as the HR Director for Mono County. He was interviewed by then-CAO Dave Wilbrecht and can’t even recall if there was a supervisor present at his original interview.

“During my interview I did disclose that I was being investigated about the Taos incident,” Arkens said.

During a candidates forum on Tuesday, April 24, when asked about Arkens’ past, District 3 supervisor Vikki Bauer stated that “supervisors don’t do background checks. We took the word of Dave Wilbrecht.”

“People can throw all the rocks they want,” Arkens concluded. He felt that the mudslinging might be coming from people involved in the recent personnel hearings going on in Mono County.

Present

Arkens was appointed Mono County Interim CAO on May 3, 2011 and filled the position permanently a month later, which means he is quickly approaching his one-year anniversary in the position.

In the past year, he feels he can point to many projects that had been stagnating before his appointment, which he has now pushed through to completion. These projects include: a new roof on the Crowley Road shop installed for half the originally quoted price; three out of five labor agreements completed; a balanced budget with zero layoffs and no furloughs, and consolidation of jobs to help save the county money.

One of the big challenges he has dealt with in the past year has been the aforementioned personnel hearings. Arkens terminated two employees after an alleged fight in the workplace. Both employees, as well as a third party bystander who was suspended without pay, are challenging the discipline they received.

For Arkens, the bottom line came from the outside investigator’s report that one of the men made a threat and moved toward the other; the second man, a supervisor, fought back. Arkens believes the supervisor’s retaliation was unacceptable.

“As a supervisor he is held to a higher standard.” said Arkens.

The thought that the county is trying to cover something up from the incident is “the biggest joke I’ve heard,” Arkens said. “Both men were terminated for mutual combat.”

One thing Arkens did learn from the arbitration in Taos was to always have an outside investigation completed in discipline situations.

“In Taos, the only investigation done was a peer review, which couldn’t be used in the arbitration,” Arkens explained, which is why the outside investigator was brought in for the Mono County incident.

Another tough topic that Arkens has dealt with in the past year has been labor negotiations.

“I wouldn’t say negotiations have been a challenge, but I’ve never negotiated concessions before now,” he said. “I don’t like taking things from people but that’s the economic environment we’re in.”

Over the years, Arkens claims he has mellowed on discipline.

“You look at things differently as you get older,” he said. “It used to be more black and white, but now there’s gray.”

Today, he believes it’s better to help someone correct their behavior rather than make them correct it.

As for his combination of job titles and whether or not it is healthy for the county to have the CAO, HR Director and Public Works Director positions all assigned to one person, Arkens didn’t feel it really mattered because the CAO makes the final decisions.

“Everyone reports to the CAO anyway, so I would have the ultimate decision,” he said.

He explained that discipline issues start at the department level before they come to him.

“I take a lot from the department heads [when weighing any issues that come up],” he said.

He also pointed out that he held the equivalent of a joint HR Director/CAO position in Shawano as well.

“The CAO and HR are interwoven,” he explained. “I don’t like having three jobs, but I do like saving the county money.”

He agreed that the current consolidation of positions at the county is a band-aide to get the government agency through these tough economic times. It will serve as a starting point for restructuring within the county.

“You can do it for a while, but it’s tiring,” he said. “You can’t continue 12-hour days forever.”

Future

When asked if he planned to stick around, Arkens said that would be up to the Board.

“I enjoy what I’m doing,” he said. “I have excellent staff, and the year has gone by really fast.”

One of the big upcoming projects in his second year as CAO will be the review of the structure of the Mono County Paramedics following the outcome of a consultants’ report.

Jim Ellis (Photo courtesy City of Bishop)

On Friday, Feb. 3 at about 5 p.m., Bishop City Councilman Jim Ellis was injured in an accident while out of town. Councilman Ellis was on an annual fishing trip in Arizona with some friends which included Police Chief Chris Carter, Police Sergeant Dan Nolan and several other friends. Ellis was riding in the rear-facing seat of an electric car, and was returning from a short trip to the local market. As the vehicle approached the home where he was staying and began to slow down, Councilman Ellis stepped off the vehicle before it came to a complete stop. Witnesses said that it appeared that he misjudged the speed of the vehicle and lost his footing, causing him to fall and strike his head. Ellis was knocked unconscious by the fall and an ambulance was immediately called. Ellis was transported to the local hospital where it was determined that his injuries were potentially serious and he was transferred by helicopter to Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, Nev. Chief Carter and Sgt. Nolan followed Ellis to Las Vegas and were joined there by his family.

Although Ellis was initially placed in the Intensive Care Unit, his condition quickly improved and he was transferred out of ICU late Sunday evening. Councilman Ellis is currently resting comfortably and his condition continues to improve. Chief Carter said that Councilman Ellis’ family wanted everyone to know that Jim’s prognosis is good and they appreciate everyone’s support. They have asked that we all keep Ellis in our thoughts and prayers during this time of his recovery. Carter added that he and Ellis have been friends for several years and he knows that Ellis is “one tough cookie” and will come through just fine. The family will continue to keep us informed of Ellis’ progress as he prepares to get back to serving the citizens of his community. -Press Release

Local adventure sports photographer Christian Pondella kicks off the 2012 Adventure Slideshow Series on Jan. 3. (Photo: fstopgear.com)

The 2012 Adventure Slideshow Series kicks off Jan. 3. Once again being held at Snowcreek Athletic Club, the series is sponsored by Mammoth Mountaineering Supply and organized by Jim Barnes.

Christian Pondella kicks off the new year on the third with his presentation, “Bolivia: Ski Mountaineering in the Cordillera Real.”

Pondella is an adventure sports photographer who has lived in Mammoth Lakes for more than 13 years. He travels all over the world on assignments shooting a variety of adventure sports like skiing, BASE jumping, hangliding, FMX motocross, mountain biking, and just about any kind of extreme sport. His images have been featured in magazines world wide like Powder, Skiing, Maxim, GQ, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, Penthouse, Sunset, Men’s Journal and ESPN magazine.

Shows are held every Tuesday through Feb. 28 (excluding Feb. 14) at 7 p.m. Shows are free, but parking is limited so please carpool. For more information contact Barnes at jjimmybarnes@yahoo.com.

 Epperly (third from right) and his postal crew. (Photo: Vane)

Two months ago, Jim Epperly drove 2,400 miles in a U-Haul truck from Alabama to Mammoth Lakes. “I’ll never do that again,” he laughed. But the journey thus far has been worth it, Epperly said; 17 years in Alabama was enough, and this O.C. native was “looking for change.”

Now he’s Mammoth Lakes’ newest Postmaster, happening upon the opening when looking for Post Office positions in resort towns. “It was almost destiny,” said Epperly, who looked at Breckenridge and Vail before Mammoth crossed his radar. “The last time I was here was 10 years ago, and when I left that day I thought it’d be real neat to work in this town.” That dream has become reality.

It’s a difficult time to be a postmaster, given recent cuts to service, restructuring, and post office closures. Epperly reported that the Post Office was $3 billion in the red as of the third quarter of this year, with a $9-10 billion budget deficit projected by the end of the year. But Epperly is committed to spreading the word that it’s up to citizens to keep the doors of the Post Office open.

“A lot of people are misunderstood in thinking we receive funds from the federal government,” he said. In reality, “all the funding we receive is through postage and services.” That’s why Epperly is urging residents of Mammoth not only to send a letter to politicians to “tell them the Post Office needs some help,” but also to “go out and buy a Christmas card this holiday season and put a 44-cent stamp on it. You can’t beat a tangible card that you can hold in your hand.”

Epperly is also hitting the streets to drum up additional business, spreading the word about a new service, Every Door Direct Mail, which allows residents and businesses to do bulk mailing without a bulk-mailing permit. “If I haven’t been to your business yet, I will,” he said.

Epperly also emphasized that he has an open-door policy, and hopes that “anyone who’d like to come in here and talk, will.” The Sheet took advantage of this invitation on Wednesday. One topic of interest to Lunch: will newspaper boxes on postal property be reinstated?

“It’s on my list,” Epperly said. “I’m gonna look into it, and if I can, it’ll be back out there. But obviously I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize my job.”

Fair enough, but what about the date stamp taken away from Mammoth Business Essentials owner Craig Hansen? On that issue, Epperly said, his hands were tied. “That was by the book,” he said. “No one in the general public should ever have a round dater. If one were lost here, I’d have to report it. It’s that kind of thing.”

One thing Epperly hopes he won’t get flak for is the P.O. box renewal procedure, which requires the owner to come into the Post Office in person with 2 forms of ID and proof of physical address. “This is not ‘Jim’s rule,’” he said. “It’s a Post Office procedure.” He added, “Without this system, we’d have no P.O. boxes left.” As it is, Epperly estimated he fields about “five calls a day” from residents who have missed the renewal deadline and can’t show up in person.

Epperly’s other duties, which include keeping all Post Office finances straight and getting the mail commitment to the community up, have left him little time to explore the surrounding area, something he said he’s eager to do. “I’ve barely scratched the surface of this place,” he said. “The farthest I’ve been is June.”

But for now, Epperly said, “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to come up here and be a part of this community. To be a servant for all the residents of Mammoth Lakes is my goal now.”

Jim Arkens

Coming out of closed session Tuesday morning, the Mono County Board of Supervisors announced that Jim Arkens, who had been serving as Interim County Administrative Officer, will take over as permanent CAO. Arkens, 58, who succeeds Dave Wilbrecht, was previously the County’s Human Resources Director.

Wilbrecht accepted a new position as Mammoth Lakes Town Manager in April and has since assumed full-time duties in the post. Arkens will reportedly see no change in salary, at least for the remainder of the current fiscal year. He has been serving as the Interim CAO since May 3, and will serve as both CAO and HR Director for now.

Former CAO Dave Wilbrecht commented to The Sheet that he thinks Arkens is a good choice for the job. Arkens, he said, has the right background and skills, and knows the County and the needs of the Board.

He went on to indicate that Arkens’ background in labor and associated negotiations could be a big plus to the County, especially when it comes to managing costs and other budget challenges the Board will be dealing with in the not-too-distant future.

His credentials include more than 30 years combined experience in government and administrative positions. Arkens’ Human Resources background includes service at Holy Cross Hospital in Taos, New Mexico, where he was HR Director. He has also served as a CAO and HR Director for Shawano County, Wisc. Prior to that, he worked for Wisconsin’s Taylor County Regional Planning Commission as HR and Maintenance Manager, and served for 22 years on the City of Menominee, Mich. City Council as both a Council Member and its President.

In the private sector, he spent 21 years employed by Scott Paper/Kimberly-Clark as HR Manager and Safety and Fire Protection Union President.

“I’m honored by the faith that the Mono County Board of Supervisors has expressed in me in naming me the County Administrative Officer,” Arkens told The Sheet. “I will continue to provide Mono County with the necessary leadership as its administrative officer.”

As to the recession, with which Mono County is still struggling, Arkens didn’t seem daunted. “Economic times are extremely difficult and budgets are always a major challenge,” he observed. “I will do my best to work with all the departments to present a balanced budget to the Board of Supervisors. I look forward to what lies ahead, and working to provide the best possible services to the residents of Mono County.”

Arkens holds both a BA and MBA in Business Administration.

Updated 3:02 p.m. – Former CAO Dave Wilbrecht commented to The Sheet that he thinks Arkens is a good choice for the job. Arkens, he said, has the right background and skills, and knows the County and the needs of the Board.

He went on to indicate that Arkens’ background in labor and associated negotiations could be a big plus to the County, especially when it comes to managing costs and other budget challenges the Board will be dealing with in the not-too-distant future.

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Coming out of closed session this morning, the Board of Supervisors announced at 10:30 a.m. that it has promoted Jim Arkens as Mono County’s new, full-time County Administrative Officer. Arkens, who succeeded Dave Wilbrecht as Interim CAO, was previously in charge of County Human Resources.

Wilbrecht accepted a new position as Mammoth Lakes Town Manager in April and has since assumed full-time duties in the post. Arkens will reportedly see no change in salary, at least for the remainder of the current fiscal year.

A statement from the County and the Board is forthcoming.