Commentary on the May Morro Bay City Council Meetings and a
Peek at the Planning Commission Meeting

by Sandra Beebe

May 10th Meeting

Normally, I find the City Council meetings very informative and interesting. It must have been my mood, for this evening I found little to spark my interest for this commentary.

Clarification Needed

During the meeting, important business was discussed. There was a clarification of the contract extension approved at last month's meeting for MV Transportation. Some of the Council did not realize that this contract included both Dial-A-Ride and the Trolley Operations.

Resolution Regarding Commercial Whaling

A resolution supporting opposition to the resumption of commercial whaling and ten-year quotas for gray whales, as proposed by the International Whaling Commission, was unanimously approved. Several attendees also spoke in opposition, including Supervisor Gibson.

Measure Q Funding

The staff requested that the Council establish a procedure for requesting Measure Q funding and to provide further direction to staff regarding setting a policy on the use of the General Fund.

Yates Wants What?

The Public Comment session was predominately city and county political candidates. Bill Yates, who is again running for Mayor, keeps repeating the same theme - that his personal goal is to again make Morro Bay business friendly. He keeps demanding that the City Council do this too.

Since I am not involved in Morro Bay politics I'm not privy to any inside information from anyone of power or anyone behind those in power. So I really need someone to decipher his meaning. I know of no one who does not want to have a vital business community here. It is essential to maintaining the residents' quality of life. He seems to indict many with his statements but gives little to explain his intent.

May 17th Planning Commission Meeting

I also watched the Planning Commission meeting because they were to discuss the sign regulations which were adopted in 2005. As I learned at last month's City Council meeting, businesses were not following the current regulations or paying the required fees.

It turns out our sign regulations are a mess. There is much work to be done to simplify and clarify them. Staff had attempted the almost impossible task of updating them using the directions received from the Council in April without changing the regulations that they were not directed to update. The results were less than desirable.

The Three Musketeers Speak

At the public hearing on this issue the Three Musketeers, as I fondly call them, Vesterfelt, Barta, and Yates spoke.

One - As Ken Vesterfelt was signing in to address the Commission, Chairman Nancy Johnson asked that the public limit their comments to three minutes--as is the usual practice. Mr. Vesterfelt was heard to mumble scarcastlly under his breath but into the microphone "more regulations." Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if there were no regulations and we could all do whatever we wanted. I can't imagine any chaos resulting from such an approach.

He is attempting to sell condos on the corner of Morro Bay Boulevard and Shasta. If you approach them from the north on Shasta, it looks like the second coming of Paul Revere. Vesterfelt is flying several large American flags and two oversized "For Sale" signs that resemble our flag. I am always in awe when I behold an American flag unfurling in the wind. However, I continue to feel it denigrates our flag and those who have served under it to use it to sell condos. Attention can be obtained by other brightly colored ones.

Two - John Barta spoke next to clarify, in his usual condescending tones, that although the present sign regulations were begun when he was at the helm of the Planning Commission, he was not in any way responsible for them. He laid the blame on the consulting firm that was used at the time and the staff that is no longer employed in Morro Bay. He explained that his Commissioners were too busy working on other issues of the Zoning Ordinance to take care of the sign regulations.

Three - Next up for our amusement was Bill Yates, who spoke to the members of the Commission in a tone I would expect from a four year old. He complained that he had to wait for two and a half hours to speak. I can only assume that he felt what he was addressing was more important than the business that was attended to before the sign issue was brought up. I'm not certain someone this petulant would be a positive factor as our Mayor.

He continued that watching the Commission was like having a root canal done. I've had several root canals and can only speculate that my dentist must have been more skilled than Yates' for the dentist was painless and so was the meeting.

Yates, in particular, seemed to insult Commissioner Lucas who had, as he usually does, thoroughly gone over the document of regulations, and had a number of questions for staff. I have watched many of these meetings in the twelve years we have lived here and feel strongly that Commissioner Lucas is one of the best that has ever been a member of the Planning Commission. In fact, we currently have three intelligent, well-prepared, logical commissioners. In my opinion Lucas, Diodati, and Irons are all excellent and we are privileged to have them attend to this important job as volunteers.

The person who spoke next I do not know. His name is Patrick and he owns the Top Dog Coffee Bar. I adored him. His manner was respectful, pleasant, and informed. I don't drink coffee, but I plan to make a point of picking up some hot chocolate from his establishment. Wonder if we could persuade him to run for public office here in Morro Bay? I think he would make us all proud instead of embarrassed.

After Patrick, two sincere women business owners spoke about how they could not afford advertising and that signage is essential to their existence. Neither mentioned the name of their establishments, but I'm going to seek them out.

Mr. Yates frequently mentions being business friendly. I think most of us who reside here are. I know my husband and I always buy local when available. Our furniture, carpet, windows, etc., are from local establishments. However, as Nancy Johnson frequently points out, there is a need for a number of types of businesses that we don't have in our town. Businesses that cater to the tourists are essential because they are the city's lifeblood. However, give us local residents a few more stores we can use and we will come. I really don't need either a tattoo or a surfboard.

It's a Two-Way Street

Speaking of business friendly, I would like to point out that to survive, businesses should also be customer friendly. During the City Council meeting the new owner and the new manager of Morro Bay Appliances presented. When we moved here 12 years ago, we used them three times and three times we were dissatisfied at how we were treated. The last appliance I bought came from SLO. I very much liked the new owner and the new manager who spoke at the meeting and will definitely give them another try if I need either service or sales in the near future.

Ace Hardware is certainly quintessential when it comes to making the customer feel welcome. They are always helpful and the clerks always know your name. I feel warm all over when I leave.

I feel differently about another business in town. I would use them often, but I am always made to feel like an intruder when I enter the store. Fortunately, Amazon carries anything I would buy there, so I now avoid them. I've never quite understood their attitude. All the clerks there are male, so is it that I am experiencing sexism or just old-fashioned rudeness?

Everyone wants a good outcome for our city during these hard financial times so we all must try harder. I'll try to be a better customer and I hope businesses will treat me as if I am a wanted commodity.

No Sweet Dreams For Me

After watching the Planning Commission meeting I had a nightmare that night. Yates had been elected Mayor and he appointed both Barta and Vesterfelt back onto the Planning Commission. Large flowering trees began to instantly disappear from our city as if gigantic gophers were eating their root systems and oversized buildings were suddenly appearing on every empty lot. I woke up in a cold sweat.

May 24th Meeting

This meeting lasted a total of two hours rather than the four to five as usually occurs. I wondered if I could get an entire column out of such a short meeting. However, being the observer and kvetcher that I am, it was a much easier task than anticipated.

July 4th Celebration

I don't think there was a single politician who spoke during the Public Comment period of the meeting. First up to the podium was Jeff Eckles, who is heading up the July 4th celebration committee. From his reports it would seem that this is a very hard working committee. According to him, money is being raised and more volunteers are needed for this event.

This year they will have a children's walk from the Rock to Tideland's Park. This will be a delightful addition. Tucked away in a box somewhere I still have a trophy my sons won for their mini float (a red flyer wagon) in a similar parade from where we lived then.

I must say I am proud to live in a town that has a non-alcoholic, family oriented event on the 4th. However--and I always have a however--I am not proud of our town for the fireworks that will be shot over the bay. I'm a lover of fireworks, but there are other locales here in town where they would not bother our wild critters and damage our bay.

It would seem that the folks on the committee are like so many people, only giving lip service to protecting our environment. One wonders if money is not the bottom line again. "I want what I want and the environment be damned" is too common an attitude. On a larger scale we see it in the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico on our news every night. The fireworks over the bay are on a much smaller scale, but what each of us does has a cumulative effect. Therefore, I'll have my one-woman protest by contributing no money to the event and not watching the display that will be beautiful but at too great a cost for me to enjoy. On the 4th it will sadden me that some of our residents care about the environment only when it is convenient to do so.

Wastewater Treatment

During the body of the meeting, staff member Dylan Wade updated the progress of the wastewater treatment plant. He also gave a report about the status of our water supply. He stated that we will have no problems during the summer but that there could possibly be some challenging times during the fall.

Councilman Smuckler praised Mr. Wade and stated that things are in much better shape because of him and his staff. I must say that his reports are always excellent and he appears to be both knowledgeable and competent.

A couple of our intelligent and informed residents spoke in favor of the city revisiting the decision about the mandated wastewater treatment facility that is in our future. Apparently, those in the know feel PERC, which emphasizes recycling water, can do the job at a cost savings and with a better outcome. I'm far from an expert on this subject, but this new plant will be here for decades and it makes sense to listen to those with a better solution.

The Barta

I had hoped that I could get through one commentary on a meeting and not need to mention John Barta. However, he almost always has to speak and every time he seems to say something that makes my head spin.

First, he again said we should not worry about our water supply for there is plenty for us. Well, yes we have enough right now. Many in the world don't, but apparently we don't need to worry until we become one of them. The entire world is in a water crisis and we should just look away because we have enough to get us through the summer? While we're at it, we shouldn't bother to look for alternative fuel sources till every drop of oil has been used up. That's our children's problem; not ours.

Next, he was very concerned about a flyer that arrived in the mail this past week. It was from a group that I have never heard of but they used "Democratic Voters" in their name. Could the fact that they were not recommending that we vote for Barba for Democratic County Committee be why he was so visibly upset? The flyer does not say the County Committee is making these recommendations but just some Democratic Voters. Don't random people have the right to voice their opinions? It would be my guess that it was done by a group - it looks too expensive for one person to pay for the attractive flyer. This flyer is not to be confused with the one that came out recommending Republican candidates and professing to be a "DEMOCRATIC VOTER GUIDE."  It’s a shame that Machiavellian principles continue to flourish in politics.

Also, if memory serves me correctly--and it rarely does these days--wasn't there a rumor that Barta did something similar to what he is accusing this group of doing during the 2006 Mayoral election? Also, there were rumors about his influence during the 2008 election. Of course these were only rumors, but I tend to believe everything I hear. It makes life more interesting.

Fish Farming

The last business on the agenda was a letter Councilwoman Winholtz wrote to this district's congresswoman, Lois Capps. I listened intently, for I know nothing about farm fish legislation concerning aquacultures that have begun in deep waters off-shore. According to both Councilpersons Winholtz and Smuckler these experiments are fraught with problems for both the environment and wild fish runs. It is unknown how they will affect our local fishermen.

The letter requested that Congresswoman Capps gather as much information about these outcomes before she proposes legistration governing them. In this era of "Drill Baby, Drill" this would appear to be a prudent request. The Council unanimously supported the letter.

Thanks for joining me here on my couch for another month. It really is a compelling view.

Since the year 2000, Sandra & Curt Beebe have installed 36 Mutt Mitt dispensers in and around Morro Bay. The Mitts are funded by donations from individuals, organizations, and grants. Make the checks out to "The Bay Foundation" for a tax deduction. Be sure to note "Mutt Mitts" on the front of the check. The Bay Foundation is a 501(c)(3) and is administered by the National Estuary Program. For more information about this "Mutt Mitt" Program, contact Sandra at email SandraBeebe@slocoastjournal.com.