VC Board of Supervisors hears from
public at Santa Paula-based meeting
October 21, 2015
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
It was pomp and circumstance and plenty of hard business when the Ventura County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday evening in Santa Paula for a special session.
And it was standing room only for the three-hour session that covered a variety of Santa Paula centric items and featured public comment on hospital billing practices and public safety.
Santa Paula Boy Scout Troop 304 presented the Colors and Rev. Jenny Crosswhite, also a Santa Paula City Councilwoman offered A Moment of Inspiration.
Crosswhite noted she had her own inspiration that led her to seek public office and she asked supervisors to think about what had inspired them, “Things you wanted to see for the good of the county and your own community…”
Her own inspiration came in part at Samantha Frady’s Hands Across Santa Paula where two years ago the theme was “I wish…”
Although always inspired by seeing the community come together, Crosswhite said the unique program asks students to create artwork of their wishes. Many she noted, focused on households with hard working parents with limited family time missed by the children.
“I was heartbroken,” to see such wishes and Crosswhite said children are, “Not just the future,” but also the present and they need to be invested in.
That includes inspiring them: “None of us got here by ourselves,” and inspiration is key, whether by family, mentor or kindergarten teacher.
“We inspire those who come behind us,” as well as those to come and Crosswhite urged supervisors to remember what inspired them as they make decisions.
After he introduced his kindergarten teacher Marion Totheroh, Mayor John Procter also welcomed supervisors.
He also thanked them for “Your unanimous support to bring our hospital back to us…we are eternally grateful,” that the Ventura County Healthcare Agency purchased the shuttered facility and reopened it several years later.
During public comment Cathy Hicks said she has concerns about Santa Paula Hospital, primarily Emergency Room insurance practices used by doctors under independent contract to the agency.
She noted ER doctors “only take Medical or Medicare, not Blue Cross” for which she and her husband pay “high premiums…”
Hicks said they are on a payment plan for past ER treatment that runs $300 a month and “It doesn’t seem fair,” to pay high premiums without coverage.
Hicks said she would prefer to stay close to home and not go to Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura but if the issue is not resolved she will have no choice.
Board Chairperson Kathy Long said the independent physicians group has been contacted for resolution.
County CEO Mike Powers said, “This will be fixed quickly…”
Later in the meeting VCHA Director Barry Fisher said the issue would be taken care of immediately.
Some other public comment focused on Santa Paula’s needs including for public safety.
Richard Rudman told supervisors he is a member of the Santa Paula Citizens Corp and Citizens for a Safer Santa Paula, which had failed in a bid to pass a 1 percent sales tax measure benefiting police, fire and roads.
Through such efforts Rudman said “Santa Paula is coming together to help itself in the face of budget constraints and overwhelming obstacles…”
He noted Santa Paula has a “vast unrealized travel destination potential that can add to the already legendary tourist attractions in Ventura County based on our heritage of agricultural and aeronautical milestones.”
Supervisors must not assume that Santa Paula gets its fair share of funding and must be proactive in ensuring that the city becomes the tourist destination that will benefit the entire county.
The county Planning Commission should consider holding hearings on the city’s future as, “We need a new direction for Santa Paula other than those suggested by the landfill on Toland Road, jail construction and a sewage treatment facility,” that exploded last year, projects all located outside the city on unincorporated property.
“With all due respect,” he noted, “we cannot dump or incarcerate our way to a brighter future for our city.”
Devon Cichoski of Citizens for a Safer Santa Paula explained how Measure F to beef up public safety had narrowly been defeated — as a special tax it required 67 percent for passage — reflecting the concern shared by the community regarding public safety.
She asked that supervisors consider Santa Paula’s needs in their decision-making.
