Update – Mosquito Residents Seek Answers to Chipping Programs Service Request

Perspective and Opinion by Tom Harris, Associate Editor –
Update by Roger Stenbock, Editor

Update – Following the chipping program story, Ms. Karen Pullin, in a recent post on Nextdoor provided an answer. Her explanation to the questions raised is (quote): “…The way the chipping program is set up has nothing to do with me. To be most efficient and cost wise, they prefer “events” set up thru(SP) your local FSC, in our case, we only have one contractor willing to come up here and do the chipping, if you do sign up individually, they will still add you to our event or you will have to wait indefinitely until they have enough people signed up and if grant money is still available...” (Had she or the EDCFSC provided this information earlier when asked, the chipping question would not have been and issue – Editor)

Originally the Sentinel covered a story about Mosquito residents seeking support from the county’s chipping program. Providing this information: Two different organizations are offering this service: the Swansboro Country Property Owners Association (SCPOA) and the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC). According to SCPOA policy, its members must initially get chipping service from the county, which grants two chipping requests to each resident. After their two requests are satisfied by the county, then residents can request chipping by SCPOA.

Questions have emerged surrounding the guidance from the Swansboro Country Property Owners Association (SCPOA), advising members to contact the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC) first for chipping services, rather than directly contacting SCPOA. Certain SCPOA members interested in taking advantage of the chipping program(s) have raised several questions, including:

1. Who bears the financial cost of the chipping service?
2. Does EDFSC possess the authority to reject a chipping request?
3. Who is responsible for determining which SCPOA members receive chipping services?

To get answers to these questions on March 7, 2024, Mosquito resident and Sentinel editor Tom Harris went online to the EDCFSC website and accessed the Request for Chipping form. At the top of the form, it stated that county residents can request chipping twice in a year. The Sentinel also noticed a new field that had been added since the last time he filled out this form. It read, “Is your request part of a Community Event organized by your local fire safe council?”

The Sentinel then contacted the EDCFSC by email and asked this question:
“As an answer for this field is required, does the answer have any bearing on whether the requester will receive the chipping service or not?”  The Sentinel is perplexed.  Why would it matter whether or not the request involves a Mosquito Fire Safe Council event?  And, if it has no bearing, why is the question asked?  It seems neither important nor relevant and flies in the face of the rule that residents can apply for two chipping requests per year from EDCFSC.

On April 2, 2024, after receiving no response from EDCFSC, the Sentinel again requested an answer to its question and indicated that it would notify Mosquito residents of its inquiry if there was no response within two weeks. As of April 16, 2024 – still no response from EDCFSC. This non-responsiveness created the appearance of a lack of transparency or worse. This led to further research.

The EDCFSC website lists Ms. Karen Pullin as the Secretary of the EDCFSC. The president of the Mosquito Fire Safe Council (MFSC) is also Karen Pullin.  Even though neither of these positions are elected, nor are they regulated by any state or local authority, the EDCFSC is funded by taxpayers.  Considering Ms. Pullin’s connections with these organizations, residents view this new question on the chipper request form as an effort to sort chipper requests based on the requester’s relationship with her. Alternatively, it might be another way for her to get involved in the chipping programs and potentially disrupt the ongoing one sponsored by SCPOA.

The main concern is whether non-elected officials like Ms. Pullin should have the power to set terms for taxpayer-funded chipping services. Despite these concerns, important questions linger unanswered, leaving the community in the dark about the decision-making process within EDCFSC.

SCPOA Residents are expressing a need for openness and responsibility from the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council (EDCFSC) regarding taxpayer worries. Considering these uncertainties, both SCPOA and Mosquito taxpayers need to seek clarity and solutions. Rebuilding trust in EDCFSC services relies on addressing these important issues and making sure everyone has fair access to taxpayer-supported resources.

The Swansboro Sentinel blog is a platform established for the dissemination of information relevant to the residents of the Swansboro Country Property Owners Association (SCPOA). The content provided herein is intended solely for the benefit and consideration of SCPOA members. If you are not a member of SCPOA, we kindly request that you refrain from accessing or utilizing the information presented on this blog. See the about page for more information.