Sewer System

By William "Bill" Rabenaldt

Our sewer system is at capacity and the decision to upgrade was not made until the State of California began imposing fines for City Council mismanagement.

Had we taken a portion of our General Fund and dedicated it to construction and maintenance over the past several years, the burden would be much lighter today. The tourist dollar, a major contributor to the General Fund, should have paid for a substantial portion of this project. Instead, we will all see rate increases that could be as much as $500.00 annually for the complete upgrade including the sewer plant.

A decision has been made to replace the force main going down Shell Beach Road and an additional line to carry future "grey water" generated from the sewer plant. What I don't understand is why, when the trench is open, were not provisions made to lay cable which would some day allow that community to have underground utilities. This new pipeline will stretch all the way to Addie Street and undergrounding needs to be accomplished downtown as well. In an open forum, it was stated that the streets will need to be reopened at some future date for this cable. Short sighted planning by our Council will create another nightmare in the future. Common Sense is lacking and I hope to bring it back to the City Council on November 7th.