The following is a letter to Mendocino County residents written by 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak and 1st District Supervisor Glenn McGourty to address community concerns after the Veteran’s Service Office was relocated unilaterally with little to no collaboration with local veterans.
Read our coverage of the decision to relocate the office here. For an example of the outrage expressed by local veterans, read this letter to the editor.
There have been a lot of emotions regarding the move of the Veterans Service Office from a small house to within the Public Health Building. We, Supervisors Haschak and McGourty, recognize that the move was conducted without appropriate communication between the County and the veterans and staff affected. In no way was disrespect intended. All involved have the utmost respect for our veterans and the service and sacrifice that they have given to our country.
The primary purpose of the Veterans’ Services Office is to help sign our local veterans up for benefits and programs that they qualify for, find service records and any help that may be required to assist both veterans and family members. This is a county program with match funding by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs. The program website can be accessed here: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/departments/social-services/veterans-services
The move was precipitated by the Board’s directive to staff to downsize the number of county buildings and reduce costs. The Veterans Services house on Observatory Ave. in Ukiah had a homey feel. Veterans and staff felt comfortable in that setting. Yet there were some issues such as parking, public safety and space.
Recently, the rent being paid for Air Quality’s present building increased dramatically. The decision by staff was to get out from under the high rents. There existed unutilized space in the Public Health building which was sufficient for the Veterans Services staff but not enough for Air Quality. On that basis, the decision was made to move Air Quality and its employees to the Observatory Ave. space and move Veterans’ Services to a wing of the Public Health building.
Supervisors learned about this from constituent outrage. Concerns have been raised about the move and we are trying to address these concerns as best we can. Some will say that we should just move the Veterans’ Services Office back to the house on Observatory. With the domino effect of the moves and considering that the new facility has some advantages, our perspective is that let’s make this new space the best it can be and that it be a space welcoming to veterans while fulfilling the needs of staff and veterans alike.
Supervisors and staff have been in communication since. Supervisor Haschak led a tour of veterans and staff of the new facilities. Veterans did not like the sterile feel of the reception area and office space. They had suggestions for “owning” the area.
Working with staff, we have come up with accommodations to make a more comfortable and welcoming Veterans’ space. The entry will have a Veterans sign to replace the Public Health sign. Dedicated Purple Heart and Veterans only parking spaces will be assigned. The doorway will have automatic entry feature for wheelchairs. The glass enclosure for the receptionist desk will be removed. A couch and coffee machine will be installed in and a mural and/or artwork will adorn the waiting area. Doorways and privacy screens are being installed in the hallway. We will be asking veterans about what they want in the outdoor quad area to make it a social environment. The planter boxes that were at Observatory will be moved to the quad.
Again, we express our apologies for how this move was communicated to veterans but also feel that working together, we can make this a better place for our veterans and staff. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Sincerely,
Supervisors John Haschak and Glenn McGourty
Doesn’t the county own the memorial building on Oak? seems like that would be an appropriate place for it. Its a pretty cool building
This just sums up the BOS. They make decisions with no regard or due diligence. And when it blows up, they try to clean up their mess. These two geniuses don’t realize you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
They think they’re a dictatorship we must follow their rule. They have learned nothing from the Cubbison Plan. They single handily caused the financial chaos, look in the mirror if you want to blame someone.
There is kind of a quality of randomness to the things they do. Like the combining of offices, the y discussed for like 3 minutes and were like “sure, why not?”
What about some accountability for once? They admit this decision was poorly executed and even apologize for it. I have yet to see/read anything from the CEO herself and those who recomended this at GSA should be reprimanded. Thank you supervisors for your transparency in addressing this matter. I hope we don’t loose our VSO staff, I am sure they are stressed. Michelle is a gem.
Again,meaningless excuses. Parking? Come on. It is the same parking lot for Mental Health and the VSO office. Same one. And quite large. Don’t the sups even pay attention to the excuses they put out. And what safety issues. I established that office. Their were no safety issues then nor now. We do not want to “work on the issues” we want back to the old office. You cannot make that new space Veteran friendly. Quit trying and “do the right thing”.
Lizard Letter
Maybe disrespect wasn’t intended….but definitely achieved!! This action by HHSA management, GSA management and the Board of Supervisors undermined our local veterans. The lack of communication about this move obviously shows disrespect to our veterans!!! Do the right thing and move the Veterans back into the Observatory house!!
I’m not buying it. I want to know what really happened. Seems to me the CEO is up to some vindictive and shady stuff. She is destroying our county government. It’s time for a full housecleaning. Start with the board, and the CEO. If we don’t make changes now, we may not recover for years to come.
So you’re saying that the VSO had space issues and you solved that by moving them to a smaller place? I say smaller because it was too small for air quality control yet large enough for the VSO. As Carl stated there is ample parking available. And by coincidence I live in the area and know that we don’t have that many problems.
You should be embarrassed by this pathetic attempt at an apology.