Sewer Contract...

Anonymous: 4:53 asked about the vote for the sewer plant.

This is so important that I wanted put the answer as a separate topic...here is my response.

Well, you have asked the million dollar question. Or should I say the $82,000,000 dollar question. What can we do? I have a few ideas, but ultimately I don’t think that I can do anything about it by myself.

I feel discouraged that Bert Rapp didn’t ask the Council to postpone entering into the contract until after the public had voted on the rate increases. Talk about a potential lawsuit! An $82,000,000 contract and they couldn’t wait a few weeks!

We had recently learned about a few alternative technologies that would have been much less expensive to operate and maintain. I mentioned the Vertreat in a separate topic.

When Bert Rapp and I discussed it he said he would research it and called Dr. Eugenio Giraldo, resident engineering expert at American Water. Dr. Giraldo threw out some weak objections. OF COURSE, he’s not going to endorse a COMPETITOR’S product! There’s $82,000,000 at stake! Why would he give an objective opinion?

When the engineer at the council meeting talked about Vertreat, he said that it wasn’t considered because it was only for industrial applications. That is untrue. The Vertreat is being used in Seattle, WA. and Homer, Alaska, for municipal wastewater treatment here in the US and extensively in Japan and Europe. Again, they have $82,000,000 reasons to steer us away from Vertreat.

Their well coordinated comments worked on the Council members and probably most of the public. The horror stories about Los Osos were also very effective.

When they were approving the additional $30,000 to Hawkins, Delafield and Wood do you remember hearing Roger Myers’ remark about lawsuits in Stockton(approving sewer plant contract before public vote)? It probably went over a lot of people’s heads but the fact that the City Attorney mentioned it and the City went ahead and approved the contract anyway is unbelievable. Was this what the Executive Session “anticipated litigation” was for? Just wondering. Maybe it was for the eminent domain.

I’m not sure what the totals are that we have spent for HDW to write up a treatment plant contract for us. Its $100’s of thousands. And, it may be close to a million before we’re through - to write a contract. Come on - HDW has been doing this for years! They have written this same contract for municipalities in California and other states. You would think that there would be an economy of scale or some boilerplate by now that just would need a little amending. But, no, they need that $235 per hour to come out from New York and pick up their checks. I’m also disappointed in Cecilia Cuevas’s gratuitous sympathy for how hard they are working. Producing a big pile of documents to make it look so is an old trick.

Check out this report by the Massachusetts Inspector General on this DBO process and using HDW.

Here’s another interesting document I found. It’s a lawsuit in Connecticut that HDW was involved in. You’ll have to read it yourself but basically they were sued by Connecticut for negligence. They were involved with illegal Enron transactions… “It failed to advise CRRA that the Enron Transaction was illegal, unauthorized, and exceeded CRRA’s statutory authority;”

Okay, so what are my ideas to save money for the ratepayers?

1. Use SRF (State Revolving Fund) loans. The interest rate for the bonds we just authorized is xxx(sorry, I have to make a correction here. I don't know what the bond interest is). Why aren’t we using the SRF (State Revolving Fund) loans for 2.5%? In my opinion and research it appears that the State requires competitive bidding rather than the DBO process that we had to get special legislation for. Who knows if we can even get the bond financing though. A “value engineering study” needs to be done before we can get loans. The type of loan we’re getting is a “COP” or Certificate of Participation. "This form of financing can be used by the municipal or government entity to circumvent restrictions that might exist on the amount of debt they might be able to take on." Also, the revenue stream from our sewer bills will be going to pay the bond holders. I think another reason that they wanted to have special counsel involved was to make sure they could get through the Prop 218 requirements.

2. What about the grants? There is a lot of grant money available. Does the state withhold grants for cause?

3. Stop approving the addendums to contracts for additional sums. Addendum #22 and #23 to Boyle Engineering were approved Tuesday night. Is there a limit to addendums? Not sure which Addendum # this was for Hawkins Delafield and Wood. These are like open ended streams of cash to these companies. And it’s not going to stop now just because we have a contract. HDW has already started a new invoice. Before this is all over the taxpayers of this town will be fleeced down to the bone…with no end in sight.

For that reason, maybe we should vote against the rates. And don’t forget we still have the chloride issue. The new plant that we will be paying $82,000,000 for will not treat chlorides. That’s why we have to put the recycled water in the parks and playgrounds, if the FUSD agrees to let the City do that. And get this…the City expects to charge the FUSD the same rate for recycled water that we are charging for potable water. I think that may be part of the formula for rates. Not sure though. An additional $35,000,000 will be required to soften the water. I want to talk about chloride reduction at a later date.

I’m not saying that Vertreat or the Micromedia that Bert mentioned are better than Membrane Reactor Technology. I am just saying it has not been investigated properly.

We did not need to award the contract before the vote by ratepayers. Oh, just one more thing. This DBO process is known as Privatization of municipal water systems. That means that American Water will literally own our plant.

A few changes

You might notice a few changes here. I removed my profile since it was outdated since the election. I'll have to come up with a better one.

I'm looking for a different picture too.

I've added a link to the Fillmore Gazette's new website. Have you checked it out yet? I've added a link to the sidebar. There are videotapes of the meetings to watch. It's very well designed and very ambitious in scope.

Would you live here?

There have been some anonymous posters who say that I'm no growth, Patti's no growth, etc...(who would probably chop out those 3 words to use on a campaign ad) but they are wrong.

I hope you all take a look at this great development up in Davis. Now this I would love to see in North Fillmore. Leaving out the industrial it could be close to the same size. I like it so much that I would invest in it and probably buy a home.

http://www.lgc.org/freepub/land_use/models/village_homes.html

http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/landuse/village.shtml

What do you think of this? Would you like to live in a community like this?

Sewer Plant News

Here's some new information on sewer plants. As you may know, at last week's (11/21) City Council meeting, the contract to design, build and operate the new sewer plant was presented to the council members and public.

It's in the neighborhood of $42,000,000. Plus operating and maintenance costs of close to $2,000,000 per year plus electrical costs which are much more than what we are using now. How can we afford this? This is happening all over the state and country. There's billions to be made.

Santa Paula is also dealing with this problem. They were on the verge of signing a contract when they decided to take a closer look at a technology called "Vertreat". They have provided us with the information and Bert Rapp is taking a look at it. Tomorrow night (11/28), the contract for the MBR plant is supposed to be voted on for approval. Bert may ask for a delay to do some further research.

There is a lot of documentation that I've been going over and I don't want to go into all the details. I will provide a link if you want to read for yourselves. Here are just a few bullet points of the advantages.

Deep Shaft Wastewater Treatment technology facts:

• Technology is over 20 years old
• The system is uncomplicated, easy to operate and maintain, and well suited to fully automated unattended operation
• The in-ground reactor ( vertical shaft 200-350 ft deep) is much less likely to sustain damage in an earthquake than aboveground reactors.
• Life span of shaft -100-125 years, no corrosion
• Solid waste handling is greatly reduced in volume and is less hazardous, making it easier to dispose of at a lesser cost (maybe even a profit)
• No serious disadvantages
• Energy efficient - even energy producing
• Produces Class A bio-solids which can go to Toland or other local site. Class B sludge must be transported to Arizona
• Class A bio-solids also produce higher energy in a gasification process- energy credits for gas produced
• Saves valuable farmland
• Electricity to run plant is 1/10th the cost of a membrane filter plant now being considered
• 100% odor free
• Footprint no more than 52 x 120 ft
• Takes spikes in water-flow easily
• Environmental "GREEN" grants available (see Thousand Oaks- received 110 million in green grants using solar power)
• Membrane filters in BMR plants get plugged up and they don't last 40 years. Must be replaced from time to time and they're not cheap.

So, keep your fingers crossed that this is a usable technology without a lot of flaws and that it would indeed be cheaper to build and operate. There are a lot of questions and unknowns at this point but it's worth a look.

http://www.noram-eng.com/products/vertreat.html

Happy Thanksgiving

I was going to write about the sewer plant but it's going to take too long. I do have some interesting news for you about it. I'll try to get it posted tomorrow.

Here is a little local news for you though. On November 3rd I got a document listing the mortgage defaults on properties in Ventura County. There were 125. On the 20th that number had risen to 179. That's about a 30% increase. The number in Fillmore is about the same with 5-6 homes in default. Our housing market is going to be in trouble.


In the mean time I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

I guess I've got to talk about it

Did you watch last Tuesday's City Council meeting? I was there. I have to tell you that I've been dreading talking about it.

I don't like having to criticize the actions of our council members and staff. They might think otherwise but I want to assure everyone that it's not my nature and I let a lot of stuff slide without bringing it to the public's attention.

One thing I can't let slide is the eminent domain action that was unanimously approved last week. I have heard the city say that "we don't do that". And then they did it. It's shocking and depressing at the same time.

The landowner had an attorney there who indicated that they were taking the land illegally. His contention was that this was truly not a public benefit but a benefit to the developer(Griffin for Heritage Valley Parks). It sounded like there was a lot more to the situation that has been going on for years.

Does the city council have the option to authorize some negotiations with landowners(or citizens)? It looks like we're on our way to another potential lawsuit that might have been avoided. The landowner and his attorney seemed to be willing to talk.

So, what's your thoughts? Do you think it's okay to take this land(it was to provide road access for HVP east exit)?

For your reading pleasure...

I was doing some research on "workforce housing" and came upon some interesting reading material. One blog I read considers the term the new "affordable housing".

Most of us hear the well-used term and think of the "teachers, firemen and nurses"...etc. who can't afford housing with their good paying jobs with benefits. And if they can't afford housing what about the waitresses, retail clerks, gardeners and others who don't get that guaranteed good wage or ANY benefits at all?

Maybe with the deflation of the current housing bubble, houses will become more affordable again. Of course, I don't ever remember houses being affordable in California. I remember when I bought my first house and it didn't seem affordable to me. It was a big struggle.

Anyway, check out these links and get back to me with your thoughts. This article is pretty long but the deeper you get into it the more it will get your wheels turning. This part is intriguing.

Catching up...roundup

It's time to do a roundup and catch up on comments that I haven't been able to respond to lately.

Gracy asked about the APCD Board Meeting. Thanks for asking Gracy. It was very interesting. It's held at the Board of Supervisors office in Ventura. The meeting was packed and the facility is more grand than our council chambers. The APCD Board meeting is different than the Advisory Board that I am on. The APCD Board consists of the County Board of Supervisors and 5 elected officials from different cities. The Advisory board consists of 20 citizens who will provide input from a public level.

Basically the main topic of the day was to oppose a decision by the EPA to exempt the proposed BHP Billiton LNG terminal about 15 miles offshore, from any review by our APCD. There were many speakers, most in favor of opposing the EPA. The Board agreed to oppose the EPA. This took several hours. It's amazing the amount of work that goes into every little legislative act.

Anonymous 5:11 pm: What does this mean? "Is North Fillmore building a partial side road to Norway?" It sounds like a riddle to me and I don't have a clue.

Anonymous 8:43 am: I don't mean to ignore your comments but it's just that you are so prolific and you usually have 20 different statements to address that I just don't have the time to go through each one at length. And, I'm not being critical in a mean way about the writing - I just want you to know that it's difficult to respond when it's hard to read. I want to respond in a meaningful detailed way. That's a lot of work. Okay, with that said, I'll tackle a few of your points.

1. Citizens for Responsible Growth "pac" meetings. I've stated several times that the group is not a pac, has no money, no way to collect it or disburse it. What we are is just a bunch of concerned citizens. And, yes the meetings are open to the public. When we were meeting regularly, there were several times that we wrote in the Gazette the time, date and location. (Sundays at 2:00 at either River Street church or D and Sespe church). In several of my letters to the editor I gave out my phone number asking people to call me in case they wanted to participate. I believe Todd and maybe Ralph Rees publicly invited people at council meetings. Some how you missed all this and that's unfortunate if you wanted to participate. There were many people who showed up that I had no idea who they were or how they found out but they did. If we have meetings I usually try to email everyone to let them know. If you send your email address I will put you on my list.

2. If you are asking me about what Patti voted on the GP update, I don't know. I wasn't here and frankly it's kind of a moot point. It's also nitpicky. Those flyers were all garbage and just weak attempts that obviously didn't work. Nobody else read them either.

3. I've explained my view of the 894 vs. 700 situation many times in great detail. Your reasoning might be good but I can't follow it with the writing format. We just have to agree to disagree. You do have a good point about questioning city staff. But, I've read Roger Myers' opinion, heard his remarks, city council remarks, Kevin's remarks(tonight). The thing is, the situation is so ambiguous and conflicted that no one understands it.

Now I really want to get into the 1:14 pm comments but trying to read it is making my head spin. And, the reason I think you are getting too personal is that you go on too much about what Patti did in the past - on every rant. I can't address what happened in the past. I can barely keep up with what's happening now so you'll have to let it go and move forward.

You do mention the traffic study after each 100 homes. I can discuss that. Many people believe that traffic is NOW below our circulation levels of service. The traffic studies presented with the EIR stated that our levels of service are in compliance with our General Plan. I personally tested the levels of service at various signals in town and found them to be below a D. Traffic is a major issue to many people. If the traffic studies in the EIR deny that our level of service is not up to par now, why would that change after 100 homes are added?

You also talk about single family homes for $700,000. That's the price that Griffin's getting for Heritage Valley Parks. Those are large houses. I don't think all single family houses have to be that big. There can and should be a compromise between high density multi-family and huge single family. I live in a low income entry level neighborhood with houses in the mid-400's. That's a lot different than Griffin's $700,000. I think my neighborhood is about 8 du/acre. We're pretty crowded here. People shouldn't have to live in housing much more crowded than this.

As far as immigration, I do agree with you. If you grew up in Southern California I don't think you can be racist. We all grew up with our best pals being hispanic and vice versa. We have a common culture that's unique.

What do you mean that the information presented to the city council should have been more specific?

Weekend update

Just a few updates on the weekend. There was a lot going on and I wish I had had the time to post this Friday so you could all be able to take advantage of the events.

Last night we went to the Lions Club Veterans dinner at the Scout House. The Lions served up a great prime rib dinner. The Susie and Rick Show provided entertainment. We were honored by the presence of several veterans, many in full uniform.

The Gathering Grounds also hosted a music and art festival. We missed getting to attend but when we drove by on our way to the scout house we could hear the music. I hope it was successful.

I'm reading up on the agenda for the APCD board meeting. This Tuesday will be my first meeting as an advisory board participant and I am looking forward to attending.

In the meantime, here is something to think about...and this is one of the reasons that I have been fighting so hard to reduce truck traffic and other development that creates additional air pollution. Diesel emissions in Ventura County are the highest contributors of added cancer risks due to air pollutants. Here are the rankings for Ventura County.

Take the poll

I'm testing out a new blog feature. It's a poll. I don't have it quite right yet and the placement seems a bit awkward but it might be fun.

It seems like everyone wants to speculate on the next mayor so let's test out the poll.

A new day...

What a finish!

Congratulations Patti! Congratulations Laurie! Well done all.

Here are the results from the polls. I think there are probably still some absentee ballots to count but we don't know that they will change the outcome.


PATTI WALKER 903 25.72%
LAURIE J. HERNANDEZ 736 20.96%
KEN SMEDLEY 667 19.00%
GAYLE WASHBURN 644 18.34%
DIANE MCCALL 334 9.51%
LINDA S. ROBERTS 221 6.29%

I think that Patti's huge lead proves that the negative campaigning does NOT work here in Fillmore anymore. The community wants a change.

Patti has the most loyal supporters and there is a good reason for that. They can see how intelligent, dedicated and hardworking she is.

I am very proud of my results and want to thank those voted for me.

I also want to thank sincerely from the bottom of my heart the excellent campaign committee that came together and ran the best campaign that Fillmore has ever seen. Bob Stroh our campaign manager; Gracy Donahue and Donna Cruz, treasurers; Ralph Rees and Bill Steiger, volunteer coordinators; Jim Cruz, signmaster; Jamey Brooks, Steven Walker, George Krestyn, Bob Smith, creative arts; Brian Sipes and Jeff Hansen, fund raising; Nola Harding, meet and greet coordinator. All of you wore more than one hat including brainstorming and advice along with Charlie, Maryellen and Steven Alvarez, Gloria Pagliano, Sarah Hansen, Jack and Joleen Stethem, Paul and Carmen Tholl, Todd VanDeMheen.

There are so many wonderful people to thank. All of the "Walker-Washburn-Walkers" did such a fantastic job reaching out to the community and getting our message delivered door to door. So much work.

We also are blessed to have the support and love of our spouses and families who worked in the background making sure we take care of ourselves.

Finally, I want to thank my running mate, Patti Walker, for having the faith in me to think that with my inexperience that I could even run. I know that we will still be "working together" for Fillmore's future.

Countdown wrapup

Yay! Today is the day. Time to get out there and vote. No matter who you are voting for, if you've been on this site and participated, you probably have a lot more information than you did when the campaign first began. You certainly now know more about me than anyone would ever want to.

I've never done this before and it is certainly intense. It's not easy to put yourself out there for inspection under a microscope and to take criticism. All candidates should be proud that they are willing to do that to serve their community.

There have even been a few really "juicy" items. I was not aware of the Mayor Pro-tem controversy. It is a legitimate question as to why Cecilia Cuevas was bypassed if it was her turn to be Mayor. Why would someone be chosen who is up for re-election? Just a disclaimer here...I do think Ken has conducted himself admirably as Mayor Pro-tem so that is not the point. The point is it should have gone to someone who was not up for re-election.

I know there have been a lot of comments that might give you more questions than answers. I'll guess that a lot of those comments are coming from the Friends of Fillmore. Yes, they are here and working hard to confuse you and discredit some candidates. If I've given them a free ride I'm okay with that.

There are some here who took the time to go to city hall and search for the truth. I applaud your efforts and encourage everyone to do the same.

There have been complaints that the blog is the cause of hurtful remarks and attacks. I think if the Friends of Fillmore hadn't been participating, things would have been a lot more peaceful. Yes, we have had the influence of clairek that has been controversial but she's entitled to her opinion. I did make an effort to keep personal comments to a minimum and deleted any messages that were personal attacks on another candidate. But, you have to admit that there were a lot of attacks against Patti and I that could have been deleted. I allowed them to stand and we faced the attacks as legitimate questions or comments. That's part of being a candidate.

I woke up this morning realizing that I had made a mistake in my letter to the Sespe Sun. Rosa Martel does have a point that I completely missed in my hurry to get caught up on all the comments. I think her point was that she did not give permission to be on a joint flyer. If so, I apologize to her for not seeing the whole picture.

I also apologize to any whose questions or comments I missed or didn't have time to address. I think there were close to 500 comments posted!

Good luck to all candidates and come back tomorrow. We'll still have a lot to talk about.

Land Use Graphics from GP

Okay, we're going over this again. These are excerpts from the General Plan Land Use Element, adopted May 2003, that apply to North Fillmore. These five excerpts indicate that the default Land Use for North Fillmore without the North Fillmore Specific Plan is Low Density Residential of 1-7 units per acre at a maximum of 693 units.

I hope the charts aren't too difficult to read. If they are just go to the website and the pages indicated for a better picture.


1. Page LU-34: Table LU-6 that describes the proposed designations










States that North Fillmore Master Plan Area of 99 acres would transition to low-density residential.

2. Page LU-44: Definition of Low-Density Residential









Thus, 99 acres x low-density residential (1-7 du/acre) equals a maximum of 693 units.


3. Page LU-43: Land Use Category Summary










States that a Master Plan with design standards is REQUIRED. No Master Plan has ever been created.

4. Page LU-49: Definition of Overlay Districts(NFMaster Plan is an Overlay)











States that development standards and studies are required and specific ordinances should be developed. Where are the zoning ordinance changes? “Except as specified…the underlying land use category would apply.” Thus the underlying land use category of Residential Low would apply.

5. Page LU-52: Overlay District Intentions









This is where things get confusing. The North Fillmore Overlay District is ‘intended’ for ‘potential’… and ‘would’ include no more than 894. The overlay district has never been established. And, there is no Master Plan

Definition: ‘Would: Refers to an event that has not happened yet.


The Master Plan was never done. Thus, the land use designation prior to the North Fillmore Specific Plan was RL-Low-density residential 1-7 units, for a maximum development of 693 dwelling units. The zoning prior to NFSP was Industrial.

Additionally, in the General Plan Update Supplement to Final Environmental Impact Report of October 25, Land Use Element Changes, the updated General Plan Land Use Category Summary table has no reference to any North Fillmore Master Plan at all. The only possible reference is a category of Transitional Residential: Requires Planning Commission review and the Planned Development process to allow approval.

Now, you have to admit that there is some ambiguity. So, does that mean there is a conflict that needs to be resolved? Hmmm...

Also, you previously commented about the 106 acres. I believe you are referring to Table LU-4 which describes the vacant industrial land. Part of the total 106 is from the CBD. Please let me know if this is where you are getting the 106 acres.

Ultimately, it is all a moot point. More importantly, what is your opinion of the city attorney's statement that the referendum had no effect on North Fillmore Specific Plan?

Whopper stopper edition

There are a lot of good comments and questions to address. I'm on my way to the airport but I hope to be able to get to them when I get back.

There are so many untruths floating about in cyberspace and mailers that they need to be addressed and dealt with.

In the meantime, what's your favorite whopper of a campaign lie or allegation?

..."When you little scamps get together, you're worse than a sewing circle. " - Mia Wallace, Pulp Fiction.

New mailers...do they work?

As flyonthewall has pointed out, there are a lot of good discussions going on. So many that I can't keep up. I think there were 60 or more posts yesterday!

If you have any items that you want to be a topic for discussion let me know and I will start a new topic for it.

In the meantime, here's our topic for today.

There are new negative mailers out today. Do they make a difference to you? Is your mind made up and will you change your mind based on the mailers? Do you think they work or do they just make you mad?