I have been following the Mountain Gate situation for some months now, and the following is on   www.redding.com  today....kind of tells it like it is, and I wanted to share this "unusual situation" to others....read on:

Three months after resigning from the Mountain Gate Community Services District board of directors, Jeff Cole was hired as interim manager - but not before community members made sure their voices were heard.

Immediately after board Chairman Gary Gunter called the meeting to order, resident Pete Saari served recall notices to board members Cary Park and Greg Peterson.

Several audience members held up signs expressing their displeasure with the board's actions. One read: "Using a position on the board for personal gain is self service, not public service."

The board was poised to hire Cole as interim manager in December until public outrage pushed them to table the item. At the next meeting, board member Roger Nelson resigned, leaving the board without a quorum and unable to act on filling the position.

"As soon as 90 days run out, Gunter is next," Saari said. "It'd be a pleasure to serve him."

Gunter was reappointed to the board in February after he resigned from the board in December.

Saari said the recall was started because the board is a self-serving good old boys' network looking to further their own personal interests. At least 266 signatures will need to be collected to put the recall to a districtwide vote.

Cole, who sat on the board from March 2009 to December 2009, has been employed by the district as a heavy equipment operator since Dec. 14, three days after he turned in his letter of resignation to the board and three days before it was accepted.

In December, Cole gave the board a proposal letter, offering to fill the position of interim manager for $7,800 a month. On Tuesday, Cole submitted a new proposal that set the pay at $5,250 a month.

During the public comment period, Janet Wright asked the board why they needed to fill the position when Tim Heck was already acting as interim manager and a district manager is expected to be hired soon.

"Why not just get on with the hiring process?" she said.

Pam Truscott asked the board if there had been any other applications for the position or if the district had solicited applications.

"In my opinion ... that defeats the purpose of the interim," Gunter said. "We need someone now."

Truscott later said she just wanted to see professionalism in how district business is handled and she doesn't think that is happening. Recently she has held several meetings with other concerned residents, she said.

Cole was voted in by Gunter, Peterson and David Selby, with Joan Anderson voting against the motion and Park abstaining. After a 10-minute break in the middle of the meeting, Cole replaced Tim Heck as interim manager and took his seat at the board's table.

Other action taken by the board included removing a clause from the district manager's job description involving the ability to sit at a desk for long periods of time, and instructing the hiring committee for the manager's position to inquire about water distribution and treatment licenses.

Gunter said he has been in contact with two people from neighboring water districts to serve on an interview panel for the eight applicants chosen by the board and district staff as the most qualified.

When asked, Gunter said Cole did not submit an application.

Gunter said the interviews will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

The district has been without a manager since July when then-manager Ken Mariette was locked out of the office and fired.