The Llano Ledger
Newsletter Text V40
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*************May 15, 2000*************
Due to several pressing issues demanding extensive coverage in this
edition, continuing critique of the Garrett Deposition will be
postponed again until next week. Sorry.
First, two announcements: Kingsland Memorial Post #434 will hold a
Memorial Day service May 29 at the Post home at 10:30a.m.. A detailed
News Release containing directions and particulars can be found on
Information and Services. Show your patriotism and gratitude to those
who made the supreme sacrifice. Be sure to attend. The Buchanan Dam
Volunteer Fire Department will be holding a "Community Awareness Day"
open house at the Fire Station (across from the Red Barn) on June 25 at
1:00p.m.. They are in desperate need of financial help. Full details
can also be found on Information and Services. Support your community.
... The house or business saved some day may indeed be your own.
An e-mail response from jail architect Lamarr McDonald and an open
records response from LMHS Administrator Ernie Parisi have been
received and will be presented in this edition after the following
complaint filed with the Open Records Division against LISD
Superintendent Jack Patton:
David Short, Investigator
Open Records Division
Texas Attorney General's Office
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, Tx. 78711-2548
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
http://maxpages.com/llanoledger
Rt 2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609
RE: Open Records Complaint
May 8, 2000
Dear Mr. Short:
This is an open records complaint filed against Llano Independent
School District (LISD) Superintendent Jack Patton. Kindly find attached
the open records request of April 15, Patton's "response" dated April
28, an unsigned "Statement" from the Superintendent, and a published
Taxpayer Notice also provided by Mr. Patton.
Questions 6 and 11 were unanswered. "Answers" to Questions
2,7,8,9,10,12,13,14,15,and 16 were non-responsive. A 1/2 inch thick
stack of documents titled Texas Education Agency Manual For Districts
Subject To Wealth Equalization was used by Patton to support his
"answer" to Question 7. They are as undecipherable as is his response.
This document was also apparently used to "answer" Question 14.
The attached "Notice To Llano I.S.D. Taxpayers" was originally
published in a local newspaper. It was used as Patton's "response" to
Question 15 and possibly also Question 14. Regardless, the "Notice" is
a statement of fact and does not answer how this "fact" was arrived at,
as required in both Questions 14 and 15.
The Superintendent has stonewalled all information requests made
formally or informally since taking office July 1, 1999. His answers to
previous open records requests have been incomplete and non-responsive,
necessitating additional requests. Informal requests for information
have been ignored.
Specifically and as you may recall, Patton ignored an earlier
formal open records request dated Jan.12, 2000. A complaint dated
Jan.30, 2000 was filed with your office, and you responded with a
letter to Patton dated Feb.10, 2000, forcing his compliance. His
response of Feb.14, 2000, however, was incomplete, leading to a second
related request dated Feb.18, 2000. His "response" of Feb.23, 2000 was
also incomplete and non-responsive.
He did, however, extend in that letter an invitation to tour LISD
facilities. I responded by asking him to personally conduct the tour,
so that we'd have a chance to meet, clear the air. More importantly, I
told him he'd have the opportunity to answer numerous longstanding
unanswered questions. An agreement was made, and I arrived at his
office as scheduled on Mar.23, 2000.
Upon arriving, however, he immediately informed me he would not
personally conduct the tour, and initially refused to answer questions.
Quietly but firmly pressuring him, he relented and began to answer. His
"responses" were hurried, incomplete, non-responsive, and combative.
His behavior was egregiously erratic and unprofessional. With the
exception of Questions 1 and 16 in the current open records request of
April 15, ALL the other questions were previously asked at our earlier
meeting of Mar.23. Patton couldn't or wouldn't answer them.
Question 1, however, was also asked of Senior High School Principal
Dennis Hill the day (Mar.23) he conducted my bum's rush "tour" of LISD
facilities. Hill agreed at that time to answer by e-mail, but failed to
do so. At a meeting earlier that same afternoon (Mar.23), Patton had
also agreed to pass on ALL information requested. When he failed to do
so, the current open records request of April 15 was sent. The
Superintendent has had weeks to answer. Sadly, his behavior is an
ongoing pattern of stonewalling and obfuscation as is clear in his
attached non-responsive letter dated April 28, 2000.
In his letter, Patton disingenuously claims to have received the
open records request dated April 15 on April 25. The request was in
fact immediately mailed. Was he on a taxpayer-funded junket? On
vacation? All joking aside, the Superintendent had 10 business days to
respond and was indeed late, -- May 3.
On May 5, I received the attached unsigned "Statement". According to
the return address on the envelope, the sender is indeed the
Superintendent. Clearly, it's not an LISD invoice or printed on School
District stationary, but appears to have been created by an amateur
hacker using oversize fonts. In addition to responding late to an open
records request, Mr. Patton is dishonestly attempting to charge for
copies and "research" not requested nor agreed to prior to the mailing
of his non-responsive letter of April 28.
Sadly, this complaint only scratches the surface of open records
stonewalling problems with Llano County officials. With a County
Attorney and District Attorney both apparently corrupt, abusive, and
highly selective in their prosecutions, no relief can be expected. In
fact, District Attorney Sam Oatman himself dishonestly attempted to
charge for copies never requested in an earlier open records request
dated March 12, 2000. Serious questions remain whether Oatman indeed
fully complied with the request since vouchers were not included. His
unprofessional attempt at intimidation is glaring. Regardless, there
are serious problems in this County demanding independent criminal
investigation.
Mr. Short, I'm respectfully requesting the Superintendent answer
questions he had already agreed to answer at our earlier meeting of
March 23. If he's unwilling, unable, or continues to play games, --
attempting intimidation through the mailing of unsigned "Statements"
for services never requested nor agreed to, I respectfully urge the
Open Records Division to direct School District officials to provide
access to all documents required to answer the questions of the April
15, 2000 open records request.
Sincerely,
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
cc: File
************************
Switching gears, readers will recall an e-mail was sent to Huckabee
& Associates architect Lamarr McDonald May 5 asking precisely how
he planned to avoid egregious cost overruns at the Llano County Law
Enforcement Center as has happened at the Travis County Criminal
Justice Center. (May 8, 2000 Newsletter) Sadly, the cost of the Travis
County facility has passed twice the original estimate. The following
response dated May 7 was received from Mr. McDonald:
"[Lamarr McDonald] We design over $100 million worth of
construction a year. Our in-house estimators are well aware of current
construction cost. Another factor is the Llano Law Enforcement Center
is designed in such a manner that it is very efficient in its use of
space and material. Our firm along with the County of Llano have
strive[n] to keep this project design safe for the staff, easily
maintainable and selected materials that are durable but not
extravagant."
Again switching gears, the following response to an April 29, 2000
open records request (May 1, 2000 Newsletter) was received from LMHS
Administrator/Ceo Ernie Parisi on May 8:
Llano Bay Health Care
200 W. Ollie
Llano, TX. 78643
May 5, 2000
RE: Request for Information-Open Records Act.
Dear Mr. Chorney,
The information you have requested is contained in the private
records of a Non-Profit 501c(3) corporation. However, in the spirit of
cooperation I will provide the information you requested.
The Engineering Study conducted cost $6,000.00 and was performed by Law Gibb Engineering, Austin, Texas.
The Engineering Study was performed to determine whether or not the
property was suitable for construction of a Hospital. The property was
not suited for Hospital construction based on the study. The property
was not purchased as a result of the study.
In order to perform an accurate engineering study it was necessary
to do a survey of the property. The cost of this survey was $1,299.00.
Sincerely,
Ernie Parisi
Chief Executive Officer
***********************
To his credit Mr. Parisi apparently fully answered the open records
request, -- carefully providing only what was specifically asked.
Notice he did not provide the name of the surveyor or the address?
After all, it was not specifically requested. Unimportant at the
moment, but will be followed up in future open records requests.
Incomprehensibly, $7,299.00 was squandered to determine the selected
site was indeed unsuitable. ... Isn't there a better and cheaper way?
Presumably, the Hospital will repeat the process on a second recently
selected site. Interesting, isn't it? -- Nothing quite like enriching
consultants, right Ernie?
More importantly and disturbingly, the first sentence of Mr.
Parisi's response has elicited a second related open records request:
Ernie Parisi, Administrator
LMHS
103 West Lampasas
Llano, Tx. 78643
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
http://maxpages.com/llanoledger
Rt 2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609
RE: Open Records Request
May 13, 2000
Dear Mr. Parisi:
This is a request for information under the Texas Open Records Act,
Ch.552, Gov't Code, Public Information. Answers to the following
questions are respectfully requested:
1. In your open records response of May 5, 2000, you stated: "The
information you have requested is contained in the private records of a
Non-Profit 501c(3) corporation. However, in the spirit of cooperation I
will provide the information you requested." (a)Are you asserting Llano
Bay Health Care, Inc. is not a public entity subject to the Texas Open
Records Act? (b)If so, would you kindly identify ALL applicable federal
and state statutes supporting your assertion?
2. If Llano Bay Health Care, Inc. is allegedly not a public entity
subject to the Texas Open Records Act, can you categorically state
Llano County taxpayers will not be ultimately held financially
responsible should the proposed Marble Falls Community Hospital become
insolvent?
3. Attorney Fletcher H. Brown of Davis & Wilkerson asserted in
his October 28, 1999 Request For Attorney General Decision Regarding
Exception From Disclosure: "As such, the Llano Memorial Healthcare
System is a public entity and subject to Texas Gov't Code 552.001 et.
seq.." (a)Was Llano Bay Health Care, Inc. in existence and responsible
for the proposed Marble Falls Community Hospital at the time of Mr.
Brown's October 28, 1999 request for exception? (b)If so and if it is
also your assertion Llano Bay Health Care, Inc. is indeed not a public
entity subject to the Texas Open Records Act, why didn't Hospital
management challenge my open records request of Oct.14, 1999
(subsequently upheld by Attorney General Decision OR2000-0066) on that
basis?
4. Were public funds used to pay for the Engineering Study and
survey costs of the now defunct construction site of the Marble Falls
Community Hospital?
Thank you for apparently fully responding to my open records
request of April 29. Expect additional open records requests as the
proposed Hospital is built. Should you fail to respond, a complaint
will be immediately filed with the Open Records Division.
Quite frankly, the public status of the proposed Marble Falls
Community Hospital was clearly established by your attorney, Fletcher
H. Brown of Davis & Wilkerson, in his letter of October 28, 1999.
Should that status have allegedly changed, however, the issue will be
forced and it will be up to attorneys of the Open Records Division to
determine whether or not the proposed Marble Falls Community Hospital
remains subject to the Texas Open Records Act.
Sincerely,
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
cc: File
**********************
Parisi can indeed expect additional open records requests as the
Hospital is constructed. Apparently, there's been a shift in management
strategy regarding information requests. Should the Administrator balk,
a complaint will be immediately filed with the Open Records Division.
State attorneys can then determine the status of the proposed Hospital
and whether or not it remains subject to the Texas Open Records Act.
Readers should understand, however, Parisi's legal beagle had
indeed established the public status of the Hospital in his letter of
October 28, 1999. (See LMHS V1) If there's been an alleged change,
Ernie, why not categorically state Llano County taxpayers will not be
ultimately held financially responsible should the Marble Falls
Community Hospital become insolvent? NO Hospital official has been
willing to do so. Interesting, isn't it? If taxpayers can be held
financially liable, the Hospital is NOT private.
If the proposed facility is now allegedly no longer subject to the
Open Records Act, why did the Administrator respond within three days
of receipt of the last open records request, sending his response
certified mail return receipt requested? Interesting, isn't it? The
current follow-up request was sent to clarify Parisi's assertion and
intentions. If the Administrator is indeed asserting a change in the
proposed Hospital's status, the issue will be immediately forced with
the Open Records Division.
... Of course, there is another pressing concern shared by both the
Administrator and this writer, which may have been the driving force
behind his latest response: With unresolved questions regarding the
reliability and validity of accounting reports offered in support of
the Feasibility Study, a decision has to be made as to how much, if not
all, of earlier released financial material should be posted on this
website.
Sadly, we're quickly reaching the point where the damage to
taxpayers may be greater than that to LMHS should it not be published.
This is also why the latest open records request was sent. If the
status of the proposed Hospital has indeed inexplicably changed from
public to private, however, it would certainly affect the decision. ...
Don't dawdle, Ernie. If there's indeed no substance to the first
sentence of your May 5, 2000 open records response, quickly admit it
and spare yourself and LMHS another pointless expensive legal battle
with the Open Records Division.
After months of egregious disingenuousness, dishonesty,
stonewalling, and obfuscation, your credibility is indeed in the
toilet, -- necessitating yet another open records request. Sadly, truth
is a constantly moving target in Llano County. Readers are assured,
however, our worst offenders will continue to have their feet firmly
and aggressively held to the fire. Count on it. As always, this
publication remains beholden to NO ONE.
The visitor count stands in excess of 15,800. Another excellent week.
Yet, there has been egregiously little financial support to date. With
rare exception, the cowardly failure of the community to financially
support this publication is stunningly pitiful and selfish. Worse yet,
the sickening defense and excuse of cowardice by some is appalling. If
readers care so damned little for this community and each other, why
the hell should I?
Tim Chorney, Publisher
_The Llano Ledger
Tim Chorney, Publisher
P.O. Box 997
Buchanan Dam Tx. 78609
llanoledger@mailcity.com
Page Updated Tue Oct 9, 2001 1:17pm EDT