Tulare Public Cemetery District Board Chair Steve Presant opened the board’s May 22 meeting at 5:33pm – and adjourned it in the same sentence, leaving the meeting room with vice-chair Charlie Ramos shortly thereafter.
“It’s 5:33, and the meeting is called to order – and, I’m adjourning the meeting,” Presant said.
The meeting-that-wasn’t came after new restrictions were placed on the amount of people able to attend. At the board’s April 24 meeting, members of the public were told only 19 people could participate in the district’s small meeting area.
The restrictions came after trustee Patricia Hitlin, who was not present at the May 22 meeting, had called the Tulare Fire Department after a contentious meeting on March 27 to confirm the room’s capacity.
The district was told the room could only hold a total of 26 people for safety reasons: 19 members of the public, five board members, and two administrators.
A little bewildered, the people who arrived to attend the district’s April meeting who didn’t fit in the room waited outside the door until someone left. Then their turn was called to enter and give their public comment.
At the May 22 meeting, about 24 members of the public attended. This time, the crowd refused to leave.
Present told those assembled that they couldn’t exceed the size of the room. An officer from the Tulare Police Department was present outside the meeting, but did not act in any way to disperse it.
“I have an officer out there that claims that I can’t do anything about that,” Presant said, referring to the capacity limit in the meeting room.
Former district trustee Alberto Aguilar said that he talked to the officer prior to the meeting.
“I explained to [the officer] the laws, the California State Constitution guarantees us to go ahead and attend meetings and participate. It’s also covered in the Brown Act as well,” Aguilar told the public.
The officer concurred, repeating the same to Ramos outside the meeting room.
Aguilar and others asked Presant to move the meeting to an open area outside the building – where meetings have been held in the past.
District trustee Xavier Avila applauded the officer’s restraint, and told Presant that he needed to provide a room big enough to accommodate the public.
Present told Avila that there was “no requirement for that,” and headed for the door alongside Ramos.
“You are going to do this every time? Adjourn the meeting?” Avila asked Presant.
“How many times have we had the meeting right where you are standing,” Aguilar asked as Presant stood at the door.
Although Ramos and Presant left the meeting, Avila and Trustee Michelle Lima stayed at the dais to hear the public’s comments.
Not the first abruptly adjourned meeting
This wasn’t the first time a meeting had ended before any business was conducted, but it might be the quickest. The board’s March 27 meeting only lasted about 45 minutes.
According to former Trustee Vicki Gilson, the situation at the March meeting became heated during public comment and continued into the trustees’ comments.
Board member Xavier Avila criticized the condition of the cemetery grounds and asked for Presant’s resignation.
The public reacted positively and, according to Gilson, Presant said he was going to call the police or shut down the meeting.
After a ten minute break, Presant tabled regular meeting agenda items and took the meeting into closed session.
Keep canceling meetings or change venue?
After news of the new capacity limit broke in April, Tulare Council Member Jose Sigala offered the cemetery board use of the Tulare Public Library’s Olympic Room, the Tulare Senior Center, or the Tulare City Council Chambers for their meetings.
“Let me know if your board would be interested in meeting at a bigger location,” Sigala wrote on April 23 in the Facebook group Caring Cause, which focuses on discussion of the cemetery’s conditions and management.
He attended the May 22 meeting to repeat his offer, and to encourage the public to voice their concerns about the cemetery district’s board at the next Tulare City Council meeting.
The cemetery district’s board has met in different venues, without problems, in the past. They have met outside the small building under an awning, at the Tulare First Baptist Church, and at Evolutions Gym – all at no cost.
Lima told the Voice that if the district’s usual meeting room can’t accommodate the public, they need to find a different facility.
“I’m going to recommend it,” she said.
Lima said that she chose to stay at the meeting to hear the public.
“Because I’m at the meeting to hear the public. I do a lot of public service and I care about the public’s opinion so I stayed,” she said. “I’m there to make the cemetery beautiful. My son is in the North Cemetery.”
Andrea Clark, whose father is buried at the cemetery, tried to squeeze in her comment to no avail before Presant closed the May meeting.
After Presant and Ramos left, she followed them outside and spoke to Ramos for about 45 minutes outside the meeting room.
When Clark asked why Ramos didn’t find a different location for the meeting, Clark says Ramos responded that “They can’t remove me from the board.”
“Maybe we need a fresh start and we should remove the entire board,” Clark says she told him.
Clark claimed Ramos just stared at her and did not respond.
Adjourning the two meetings without conducting business has caused a backlog of important issues.
One of the agenda items for the May 22 meeting was a resolution to allow a grieving family whose infant is buried in the cemetery to place a headstone at her grave. Their baby girl died in 1997, but the family at the time did not have the finances to pay for a headstone and wanted permission to place one now.
Because of the size of the headstone, a variance was needed, Avila said. He told the public he would have voted in favor of it.
Avila believed that Presant knew more than 19 people were going to attend the May meeting.
“Steve had every opportunity to change venues or have the meeting outside like we have had in the past, but he wanted to purposely restrict access to the public. He didn’t want to hear the people. As a public servant I believe a governing board should make every effort to provide access to everyone,” Avila said.
Present said that the board is now considering another location for its next meeting.
“Yes, we are considering another location for the next meeting,” Presant told the Voice.
He said he thought it was a better idea to just adjourn the May 22 meeting “and make plans for other accommodation for the next one.”
Are concerned constituents cultists?
At the April 25 meeting, Ramos accidently recorded himself on his phone before the meeting started.
(Some members of the board, and public, stream board meetings on Facebook Live, though the district itself does not have an official stream or Zoom link for meetings.)
“It’s almost like we are addressing a cult […] it’s the connotation, like Charles Manson is speaking and he’s gotta say the truth,” Ramos is heard saying on the recording.
Some who live in the cemetery district have asked Ramos to resign.
Clark said she spoke with Ramos about his comments and told him that “concerned citizens are not a cult.”
She said he was being disrespectful and that he was not conducting himself as should a public servant.
Ramos said his comments were specifically about three people – and that two of them, Linda Maloy and Vicki Gordon, were wearing shirts stating “Ask Me About My Cult” mocking his comments.
Clark said Ramos said they were stirring the pot.
“But so are you,” said Clark, “and you are a public official.”
The next scheduled Tulare Public Cemetery District meeting is set for June 26 at 5:30pm, though a location has not yet been announced.
Very sad board members that walk out of a public meeting.
So obvious the members that walked out are not interested in serving the community.
I agree.they need to be removed if they have no desire to face the issues
I am not stirring the pot unless you call demanding transparency and accountability stirring the pot. If the cemetery was cared for properly my parents would have chosen to be buried in Tulare instead of elsewhere. If there was accountability and transparency myself and husband would not choose to be buried elsewhere. I can choose where I’m buried and where I spend my money. If that’s stirring the pot so be it.
I want to thank eveyone who attended the meeting and the Valley Voice for their recording of the meeting. I also want to thank Tulare Police Officer, Zequeida for telling Chairman Stephen Present that he had to follow the Brown Act and allow public participation. Chairman Present could have moved the meeting outside as it has been done in the past, but he refused. Chairman Present refused to comply with the laws that govern “public meetings” as outlined in the Brown Act and California State Constitution. Vice Chairman, Carlos Ramos agreed with Chairman Present as they both walked out of the meeting, denying the members of the public to participate in accordance with the laws that govern public meetings. I want to thank trustees Avila and Lima for staying and showing their respect to their constituents, and members of the public. I also want to thank Tulare City Councilman, Jose Sigala for standing with the members of the public and offering solutions to resolve the issues of transparency and accountibilty at the cemetery. It’s unforunate that the manager of the cemetery is inept and untrustworthy as demonstrated by her behavior and actions on the recording (for the record).
Such a ridiculous board. If you have nothing to hide then why avoid discussions or explanations? And why limit the amount of people in the know?? And since the citizens pay taxes for the cemetery to run or even exist they should be able to attend and be kept up to speed on all “doings” of the cemetery and the board!! Move the meeting to a place that can accommodate any and all who want to be involved and attend. Isn’t that just common sense?? When you retreat and act suss, you look suss. Grow the f up. If you don’t like being in charge where you have to have accountability then step aside and let someone else who is open to suggestions and willing to do what’s best for the cemetery AND the citizens who pay for it.
I agree well said
I have several family members in the old cemetery including my parents. I was just there two weeks ago and was disgusted .. there’s literally no respect in the care of people’s loved ones that paid a good amount of money for their plots. To be destroyed by erosion and neglect. This has been going on for quite a few years now. It was a beautiful serene place. Now the water faucets are gone you can’t even put the flowers on their graves. It took us awhile just to try and clean their gravestones…there are deep holes around a lot of the graves..literally no one has cared for the graveyard for years. I think they need to get all the people on the board out..let someone that cares lead this mess to victory.
This was planned well before the meeting by Xavier and his followers. They intentionally filled the room, knowing that the board would have to abide by the capacity limit. Suggesting that the meeting be moved outside was not a valid option as most of the “followers” would have complained about the heat. It was a no win situation for the board and the Chair ended it rightly so. Xavier is an instigator and has been on a real tirade since he was removed as chair. He is a narcissist in every sense of the word.
Ms. Collins, you are ignorant of the facts and I must adress your dumb misinformation with the truth. During the board meeting in April, several members of the public were told by the Chairman that they cound not attend due to the room capacity of 19, per directive from the Fire Marshal. So when I walked into the meeting room, the chairman told me that I had to leave, but I know my rights pursuant to the Brown Act and California State Constitution, so I told him to call the police and have them remove me, but he didn’t dare. I put the chair on notice about not complying with the laws that govern public meetings. When I saw that on the board agenda for the May meeting, it noted the room capacity for 19 members of the public, I went to the police department and I informed them of the laws of the state that they are required to enforce. When I was on the board, we had several meetings outside of the office at different times of the year, and we had meeting at the church the chairman attends. So for your information, I am the one responsible for having the police at the meeting to enforce the Brown Act. Every Trustee is required to receive training regarding the Brown Act and I suggest you become familiar with it as well. I commend Trustees Lima and Avila for not leaving the meeting and listening to the concerns of the members of the public. I consider the Chairman and Vice Chairman as cowards that didn’t want to do their duties.
Yap yap yap, thats all you do. You discredit people. You talk over people. You think you are the only person who knows anything about the brown act. Give it a rest. You were not reappointed yet at every meeting you act like you are still on the board.
Kelly Collins happens to be the Mother of the Assistant grounds Supervisor. It’s really amusing that she contacted me yo help when the employees were having issues with the manager. I encouraged them to speak with Trustee Avila. They did. Then when pay increases and promotions were being handed out suddenly Mrs. Collins turned on Avila and me. So guess she must have got bought out by the promotion and pay increase for her son. I don’t agree with everything Trustee does or says, yes we are pretty good friends but trust me we’ve had some very large disagreements. My opinion is, looking at this shit show from the standpoint of I have no family buried here, if these four put as much work and care into the cemetery as they are putting into trying to discredit Avila. This cemetery would look amazing.
Cant figure out why all this secrecy. Lack of transparency…..they have hired someone that is very incompetent and they don’t want to admit it. Plus they unfortunately believe every word out of her mouth. Big mistake
Linda you keep singing the same dang song. Aren’t you tired of it yet, I know I sure am! You have no one there, you keep saying it, so why are you so interested in what goes on there. You and your friends don’t know how to conduct yourselves at a meeting. Maybe Alberto should hold a class for you guys on how to behave yourselves at a public meeting!
I too have a son buried in the east cemetery since 1994 with no headstone and although I visit every chance I get when I come to cali I will say the grounds are so lumpy and has big holes and dirty, dusty, overgrown and unkept and I wonder how it costs so much to lay a headstone in a place like that and yet our tax money goes to raises & promotion. We need to do better as a community and the public officials need to take more pride in the city they serve and be held accountable cus it matters and reflects, the picture is ugly and so is the behaviors of all involved. The back and forth is shameful and such a waste of time. Yal need to get it together and make some sense out of this circus please. The Town Cares!!