The June 15 meeting of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District was called to a halt as soon as two ratepayers stood up to speak.
Minutes later, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies were called.
Director Margaret Bruce said on Facebook the next day that the deputies were called barely two minutes into the meeting because directors were concerned that some audience members might have felt threatened by speakers, and that order needed to be restored.
There had been no shouting. No threats. No physical gestures, except the act of rising from a seat. Two people spoke – one for two minutes, one for five seconds – both former elected officials.
The sheriff’s office later would not include the complaint in its daily summary of deputies’ activities. No one was arrested or issued a citation.
The two audience members, Lois Henry and John Schneider, both former Lompico water board members whose comments prompted a sudden recess and a call to police shortly after the meeting began, left voluntarily about 10 minutes after deputies arrived.
When the first deputy arrived, Schneider was specifically asked to leave by district General Manager Brian Lee, who told the deputy that Schneider had been “belligerent” in his five-second comment before the recess.
Lee also said Schneider had “refused to follow directions.”
One deputy stayed throughout the four-hour meeting. After the initial call, three other deputies in three cars arrived, then left about 10 minutes later, when things settled down.
At one point, both Lee and Ratcliffe interrupted the deputy as he was explaining trespass law to the audience.
Earlier in the day, a few miles up the road, some of these same deputies had been involved in a tense 20-hour standoff in connection with a stabbing and a family dispute, which ended with a peaceful arrest.
Henry, former president of the Lompico water board, had stood up soon as four directors (Eric Hammer was absent) took their seats at 6:30 p.m.
She was objecting to new “public comment” procedures that she said would restrict ratepayers’ comments at board meetings.
The board on June 15 began limiting public comments on non-agenda items to a total of 15 minutes, giving preference to people who put their names, addresses and topics on “speaker’s slips.”
The directors listened as Henry spoke. At the same time that President Gene Ratcliffe began to discuss the new “speaker’s slip” procedure, Schneider stood up: “ I would like to say also, that I would like to protest as well …”
He was immediately interrupted by Ratcliffe, who said, “Excuse me. Out of order, Out of order.”
She slammed her gavel. “We’ve got to call a recess. We are going to call a recess.”
Then Ratcliffe and directors Margaret Bruce and Chuck Baughmann headed to a private meeting room, followed by staff members led by Lee.
Before leaving the room, Lee told a stunned audience of about 15 people, “Staff will return with the board in five minutes,” and asked the videographer to turn off his camera.
While they were in the private meeting room, someone called the sheriff.
Director Bill Smallman did not follow his colleagues. He said later that he was concerned that other directors – a majority of the board – were violating California’s Ralph Brown Act by going into a private meeting room.
About two minutes later Lee came out and told the audience “the Sheriff” had been called.
The first sheriff’s deputy arrived about eight minutes after the recess had begun. The three-member board majority was still sequestered
“Did you call me?” he asked Lee. Lee, back in the meeting room, said, “Yes we did.”
“They are obstructing public commentary,” Scheider told the deputy. “I am willing to leave, as long as they don’t restrict public comment.”
Ratcliffe and the other directors returned after about five minutes, and announced:
“Before anybody speaks, this is our meeting. And I am the chair.
“I want to allow public comment,” she said.
“The only problem with public comment here is that we did not even open the Oral Communications,before members of the public stood up, out of order, shouted down other potential speakers, shouted down the board.”
“This speaker’s slip is a way to give everybody who wishes to address the board an equal opportunity.”
