Commentary on the June City Council Meetings
and Anything Else That Riles Up my Demons

by Sandra Beebe

  City Council Meeting

I was concerned that the summer doldrums had set in at the City Council meetings and this month's column would have to be as workaday as July's was. Color me wrong.  The cast of characters that make up the Morro Bay citizenry did not let me down.

August 9th Meeting

During the announcements, Mayor Peters mentioned an article that appeared in a local weekly newspaper.  The City Council had participated in a short, joint meeting with the Cayucos Sanitary District Board, where a vote was taken on a project manager for the new sewer plant. The article's writer seemed to add to the confusion that was stirred up by the events of that meeting. 

First, Mayor Peters did not understand that Councilman Smukler was on vacation and thought he would not appear at that meeting.  (She apologized to him for this misunderstanding and her comments, for she later learned that he had made the proper notifications concerning his absence.)

Second, Councilperson Borchard, who also was vacationing, attended the CSD Board meeting via telephone. In the article, the reporter mentioned that this had never happened before and also wondered who would pay the exorbant cost of this international phone call from Mexico.  Examples of when teleconferencing had occurred in the past were presented.  Then Ms. Borchard stated that she financed the cost of this Skype phone call—that was $1.20. Not exactly a fee that would have broken the city's strained budget had Councilwoman Borchard chosen not to be so generous.

Myself, I'm surprised that a computer monitor was not set up so that Ms. Borchard could have been visually present through Skype, which is entirely free.  I am puzzled that the reporter was not aware of how inexpensive such phone calls  are these days. Most of us make both long distance and international calls at little or no expense.

The reporter had also taken a bit of poetic license when Mayor Peters joked that you might hear "ice cubes tinkling" while Ms. Borchard was on the phone. As Peters explained, she did not mean that Council Member Borchard was imbibing adult beverages as the article indicated. She explained she pictured Ms. Borchard savoring a glass of tea or lemonade while enjoying  her stay in Mexico. 

I must say, when I heard Mayor Peters original comment I assumed it was an innocent utterance. It never occurred to me, unlike the article's writer, that she meant an alcoholic beverage. Of course, I am a teetotaler. We all tend to view the world from our own unique perspective.

The author of this newspaper article mentioned that he is an "award-winning criticism writer."  It made me ponder what kind of writer I am.  I'd like to think of myself as a bit of a satirist. Of course, I'd also like to think of myself as weighing only 140 pounds. Both would be a bit of an exaggeration.

Public Comment

Does any town have more residents who give of themselves than Morro Bay? I've lived in a number of places and I can think nowhere else can match the open hearts of our residents. Recently the American Cancer Society had their annual fundraiser–Relay for Life.  It was reported during  public comment that many  participated  locally, including both Councilpersons Grantham and Borchard.  They had expected about 50 survivors to attend but 95 were present. 

I'm always saddened to hear of a death, in particular, when the person seems to have added so much to the lives of those who knew him. A city employee, Albert Calvillo, died unexpectedly.  I feel certain that in my 12 years here I must have come in contact with him at some point but it is my loss that I have no memory of such an occurrence. Those who spoke of him remembered him as a "giver." Someone who did more than expected of him and did so with both grace and humor.   He embodied the best of Morro Bay.

I was quite surprised to hear of the resignation of Peter Candela, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.  Again, I'm not among those who know all the ins and outs of local goings on, so I have no idea why he is leaving, but I did admire what I knew of him.  At the Council meetings he  always gave an effective presentation and appeared to be both informed and intelligent. Of course, many will also miss that gorgeous gray hair of his.

I personally want to thank him for attempting to replace the environmentally damaging fireworks displays over the bay with a laser light show.  I will continue to feel, and I have absolutely no proof that it is true,  that someone sabotaged that attempt. I have  seen a number of spectacular laser demonstrations and the one in Morro Bay was beyond disappointing. 

Claire Grantham alerted the public of the need for young mothers, grandparents , and child care givers to be vaccinated  with an adult booster against Pertussis – a killer of young infants that is on the rise again.  Since I have just become a grandmother, I sought out the booster and was disappointed to learn it is not given to those of us over 64.

It wouldn't be a meeting of note without The Barta speaking down to us. This time his aim was at Ms. Winholtz for her recent behavior at the JPA meeting (more on this later in the column).  I continue to be dumbfounded by his arrogance.  If I interpret his comment correctly, he said she is not fit for public office.  I think that is up to the voters to decide. Perhaps they will go with a less principled—in my humble but astute opinion—candidate like Mr. Yates. I know that Barta will.  In a country where the Palins of the world are paid millions to make up facts as they go,  I know that the electorate can be confused very easily.

Council Business

On the agenda tonight was the approval of the lease agreement between Morro Bay and the County of San Luis Obispo for use of the property where the public library is housed. After some discussion, this 25-year commitment was approved 5-0.

 Mayor Peters wondered out loud what would libraries be like in a quarter of a century. I have often reflected on that myself. I have gone from one who spent many pleasant hours  perusing the shelves of my neighborhood libraries, to one who runs in to pick up a book now and then.  The computer age has certainly made my life broader and more interesting in many ways, but I treasure those spent hours at the library.  If I were not such a skinflint, I would buy the books for my iPad and not even use our library at all.  To no longer enjoy the energy and essence  of  a visit to a library, no matter how brief, would be my loss.

The month of August was proclaimed the "Month of the Dahlia" by the Council.  It's a lovely flower, but in spite of my somewhat green thumb, the snails have always make my attempts to grow these stunning plants a fiasco. Maybe I should join the local garden club to find out what I am really doing wrong.

A few "first readings" were rendered but I won't comment on them until they are closer to being approved. There were no items being considered that caused me to take an extra dose of my blood pressure medicine.

From Joan Solu, a local hotel owner and a member of the Tourism Business Improvement District Advisory Board, I learned that no hotel in Morro Bay is considered a large hotel by the standards of the business. In Morro Bay the average size is only 27 rooms.  That certainly adds to the charm of our town.

After some discussion, the Council directed staff  to prepare a draft ordinance increasing the city's Tourism Business Improvement District Assessment from the current 2% to 3%.  Councilman Grantham was the opposing vote, for the increased revenue will not be going into the city's general fund.

A fascinating discussion ensued about the property at 555 Main Street.  The original applicants had begun this project when real estate was at the apex of the market. Unfortunately, as we all know, the bottom fell out of that market and Coast National Bank took over that project in foreclosure.

The bank is now negotiating to have the rest of the property turned into some sort of low income housing with a possible emphases on senior housing.  Everyone seemed supportive of that idea, but the unusual question was whether the bank had done enough to keep the original permits and entitlements  from expiring.  After visiting the municipal code and interchanges that had occurred between the bank and the city, the Council felt, that by intent, they had.

Finally, the event that all had anticipated for this meeting was here.  As mentioned earlier in the column, a rather unusual JPA meeting had been held on July 15th.  This short meeting was to approve or reject staff's recommendation that Dennis Delzeit be awarded a $250,000 contract as project manager for the replacement of the city's sewer treatment plant.

City Attorney Rob Schultz brought up the issue at this meeting because of the confusion about the vote at that JPA gathering.  He reviewed the rules and found that after Ms. Winholtz departed from the meeting there was not a quorum present as is required.  His review found that although Ms. Borchard could vote via phone, her presence had to be in person to count for the quorum.  Since Councilwoman Winholtz left before the vote, the required three physically present bodies were not there.

Councilwoman Winholtz explained that she had no choice but to leave, for she could not vote yes or no based on the information presented to her by staff.  Three of the other members did not seem to mind the staff's decision and voted to approve their recommendation.

Then we have Councilman Smukler, who was away on vacation during the July 15th meeting.  He had a mini "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" moment. I was almost cheering from my couch.  I can't wait to view him when he has a full-blown one for I know the potential is there – intelligence, learns the facts, and votes from a place of integrity.  He said clearly, without a tone of rancor, that although he was not judging the caliber of the selected project manager, he felt the Council was given no other choices, as they should have been. I  only wish I could capture his tone for this article.  He continued that he represented the people of Morro Bay and his job was to take what the staff recommended and with the rest of the facts do what is best for the citizenry of this town. Ms. Winholtz concurred but other members of the Council challenged. He simply repeated eloquently that he was voting on principle and was voting no.

As often happens there was a 3-2 vote in favor of the staff's recommendation. However, the vote of the majority does not always make for a just vote.   I don't think this matter justifies quoting Tocqueville,  but when I see public interest voted down 3-2 again and again, his well-known phrase always comes to mind.

Announcements:

An important meeting was announced.  The September 15th meeting of PWAB will be held at 3 PM and devoted to the changes in Morro Bay's public transportation.  There will be free transportation to the meeting provided by Morro Bay Transit. For those who cannot  physically get to the bus route,  call the Senior Center and Pauline will arrange for a volunteer to provide a means of getting you back and forth.  The new Fixed-flex service will be discussed and all feedback about this service will be welcomed.

Want to compare the PERC Water's  sewer plan to the one that our city has approved? Councilman Smukler has arranged tours of examples of both so that you can compare them for yourself.  Call him at 772-7668 for dates and carpooling. The tours are two hours long and another couple of hours are required for transportation. Each of the two plants will require a separate trip.  It's a worthy use of one's time.

Department Head Reports

Because there were no  public hearings at this meeting, time was allotted to each department head to give a report to update interested residents.   I found the most interesting of these reports to be from our new police chief, Tim Olivas.  I am impressed that he is very community oriented  and seems to want to have a very positive influence on  things that matter. I wonder if I keep saying nice things about him, he will allow me to persuade him to have his already overworked staff enforce the leash law on our beaches.

Olivas reported that the Morro Bay police department is spearheading a countywide program called "Operation Take Back" so that people can drop off their unused medicine at  their local police headquarters.   He commented that abuse of prescription drugs is a major problem for teenagers. The program will be kicked off on September 25 to coincide with the DEA's one-day event.

To keep the collected  medicines from our water supply, they will be incinerated. This gives me some pause.  I know this problem is being studied worldwide.  Some factors to consider are the temperature and height of the incinerator. Also, the amount of pharmaceuticals introduced into the waste has to be kept very low in proportion to the amount of general waste.  It continues to be complicated to be green.

A fun event will occur the morning of September 18 at 10:00. The members of our fire department will challenge those from the Coast Guard in a physical fitness competition.   The monies raised will benefit the Morro Bay Community Foundation, which offers scholarships to local children to attend the programs offered by our Recreation and Parks department. Their goal this year will be to raise $5000, which is an impressive sum.  The fire department has won the three previous events so the members of the Coast Guard have been spied preparing for the contest.

Mayor Peters is attempting to get all of us to commit to the "No Phone Zone" that Oprah is advocating.  In this plan, one pledges not to phone or text while driving. This is, indeed, a noble cause.  As more and more phones are used for texting they are becoming even more dangerous than just talking on them while driving. It is human nature to feel that we are invincible, but report after report of lives ending too soon should make us all re-evaluate our behavior with these new technologies

City Council Business

The council was asked to authorize the hiring of a Wastewater Collections Systems Operator II for the Wastewater Collections Division.  The staff felt this was essential for that department to accomplish necessary tasks.  After some discussion it was defeated by Winholtz/Smukler/Borchard.  They could not justify this expense during a time of cutbacks and financial judiciousness.

The bear of the evening was the discussion of the current status of the General Plan/Local Coastal Plan update. The city attorney was also seeking direction from the Council for future processing this document with the California Coastal Commission.  If you're like me, you are not familiar with the history of this document. If you want a more detailed one,  City Attorney Rob Schultz's report is available on the city website.  In a nutshell, after years of work from paid consultants, staff, Planning Commission, and public hearings it was sent to the Coastal Commission in August of 2004.  They, the Coastal Commission, felt it was incomplete and; therefore, could not be certified. Now in 2010 the Coastal Commission has requested that the public hearing process occur again since five years have passed.

Attorney Schultz asked which of three plans that he presented would the Council  prefer to accept.  Since the original idea was to merge the General Plan with  the Local Coastal Plan without changing  any policies it was decided to have a subcommittee review the report submitted in 2004 to determine how effectively this was done. Because Councilpersons Peters and Winholtz are the most familiar with the history of this document they agreed to the daunting task of reviewing it and bringing  back a recommendation of the next move to be made.

During the public comment period  earlier in the meeting former Planning Commionsers Doubleday and Barta spoke about how great this document that was sent in 2004 was. Among other braggadocios Barta talked about not being pushed around by the Coastal Commission since this document was what the public wanted.  

However, immediately after he spoke up  one of Morro Bay's heroes – Dorothy Cutter – came up to the microphone to set the record straight.  She contended that this document was changed illegally by the Planning Committee( she named Barta as one of the culprits) and staff without public comment and did not reflect what the residents of our fair city wanted.  Both she and Councilperson Winholtz mentioned that many of the so-called public hearings were late at night with no one there but the planning commissioners.

Something about Citizen Barta has always perplexed me. I've noticed at the City Council meetings he always attempts to be the last person to speak during the public comment  period. In my mind I have speculated a number of hypothesis why he wants this rear spot
but none that really answered that question. Any suggestions?

The last bit of business for the evening was  a  response to the County Grand Jury requesting the status of Morro Bay's policy concerning city employees  taking home city owned vehicles.  The town's policy  is currently being reviewed. I have never understood the validity of the arguments why anyone really needs to be provided take home vehicles.
Less expensive alternatives seem more rational to me. If it is just a perk of the job then  these economic times call for ending this practice.

If my report seems somewhat mellow and forgiving this time it is because I have just become a grandmother for the first time and see the world through the eyes of that event.  I have no fear that my more critical, and somewhat cynical, views  will soon return.

Sandra and Curt Beebe