3a) Discussion and Possible Action Including Adoption of Resolution Authorizing the Grant Application, Acceptance and Execution of Agreements by the Department of Transportation Water Agency Division for the Mendocino County Community Water Supply Replacement Project and to Advertise for Bids and Award Contracts to Implement Said Project at an Initial Estimated Cost of $3,840,000 (Countywide) And Grant Matching Funds to be Allocated From PG&E Settlement Funds to Disaster Recovery Budget Unit 2910
(Sponsor: Water Agency)
I oppose the diversion of the PGE recovery money to any other purpose than to heal and repair the community of Redwood Valley, and to a lesser extend, Potter Valley, where the 2017 fires devastated families and livelihoods. The town of Mendocino remained completely unscathed! Allocating any of these funds to trucking water onto this coastal town feels like an abuse of power and neglect of those who suffered most.
It's incredulous to me that the board is considering using close to 1 million dollars of the PG&E settlement money to basically give away water to the coast with no plan of oversight or cost recovery.
I have been looking into the water delivery systems over on the coast and it is obvious that they are lacking which is a large part of the problem. Even with what little system cohesion exists, there is no water rationing as far as I can tell, only suggestions for conservation. In stark contrast, Redwood Valley water has been on rationing basically since April when agricultural user were cut off and domestic users were told that rationing for them was imminent. Even before it became mandatory, most residents voluntarily started conserving water.
Where is this water going? Is it going to residences or to for profit businesses? Will there be mandatory rationing? Will there be cost recovery?
I understand we are in a drought. I understand things are still going to get worse before they get better.
What upsets me is that we are looking at funding expensive band aids without looking to fund long term solutions to problems that have been known about for years. We are looking to spend money that is only available because of the tragedy that Redwood Valley suffered. If Redwood Valley hadn't burned, we would still be facing a record setting drought. We would still be in the situation that we are in. What would we be doing then?
The coast contributes a lot of money in the form of bed taxes. Visit Mendocino/Mendocino County Tourism Commission has money in reserves. There are other organizations that should be funding this. This shouldn't be coming out of the money that is due to Redwood Valley.
Of course we would all like free money and free water considering the position we are all in but this money came at a cost. For 9 people, it cost them their lives. For many of us it cost us our homes. For all of us, it has cost us our sense of safety, security, and well being.
To give this money away, no strings attached and without oversight, is a misappropriation of funds. It's a travesty of justice. It's an insult to those of us that are still traumatized years later.
For the supervisors that vote to approve this, it really begs the question if they are fit to serve on the board.
If you want to create a program to truck water from Ukiah to Fort Bragg to support Mendocino village and other coastal areas suffering from drought, you should fund that program with TOT (bed tax) funds, not PG&E Settlement Funds. PG&E Settlement Funds were given to the County for the purpose of helping Redwood Valley and Potter Valley recover from the 2017 wildfire caused by PG&E. It is unconscionable how you have treated these funds as your cash cow instead of using them as intended. Now you add insult to injury by trying to grab more of this money while the Mendocino County Tourism Commission is sitting on more than $842,000 in cash. I implore you to use the TOT money and make sure every bit of money left in the PG&E funds goes to the communities that burned.
Vote no! We should not be redirecting PG&E settlement funds to haul water to the coast. That money was given to the county rebuild Redwood Valley and Potter Valley (also suffering water shortages) from the disastrous effects of the 2017 fire there. The coast should use TOT (bed tax) funds --starting with the over $800,00 sitting in the Visit Mendocino account that are by law meant to be spent--then by levying an additional 0.5 to 1.0% TOT or whatever it takes to pay for the water. Tourism and the stakeholders who profit from need to find a way to pay for it. Furthermore, the coast needs to develop more sources of water for the future.
Thank you, Board of Supervisors for hosting this special meeting to discuss a short term fix for our very serious current water crisis. We are Eric and Elaine Wing Hillesland, owners of the Alegria Inn on Main Street in Mendocino. We have lived and worked here for 23 years and we support the resolution presented for a Water Hauling Assistance Program. We have experienced water shortages before and we are used to buying water from time to time for our business from Wayne of Mendocino Water Company. This year is unlike any other, though. We began buying water in February, months ahead of previous years, and will continue to buy until either the local source is shut off (which seems imminent) or the rain comes. If we are unable to get water, we will be forced to begin scaling back or shutting down our business. That will impact our employees, local suppliers, and the County through loss of bed taxes.
While we support this program, we recognize the importance is creating a long term strategy to insure water supplies for our town and region. There are lots of ideas and technologies available. The Board must provide strong leadership now in creating a permanent solution to Mendocino’s systemic and worsening water shortage.
Re: August 24, 2021, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors special meeting regarding the critical water shortage emergency in the town of Mendocino.
My name is Gary Starr, I am a 40 year Mendocinoite and 17 year home owner in the Village of Mendocino. I am an engineer by education and an entrepreneur by practice. I have been involved in several enterprises solving some of our more difficult environmental problems ranging from practical electric vehicles, cost effective solar, and water conservation and purification. I have been in the acquisition of financing of over $400 million dollars for these various projects. I have participated in many Village efforts including the art center, the pond, the park and authoring a book about Mendocino.
For years, I have been advocating for a better water system for Mendocino. Now after back to back years of drought, we find ourselves in one of the worst water situations in the history of the village if not the entire nation. Many of the news stories have highlighted the problem, I have seen very few solutions presented.
I believe we need to solve this critical issue.
The current and immediate crisis. We need water now.
Solution: More Storage and More Water
Tanks are available, but they are expensive. Can there be a rebate purchase fund for tanks purchased during 2021 ? Transported water. Can we provide a rebate to help pay for the trucked in water during 2021?
Short term local water creation solutions.
Solution: The quickest technology to implement is Air to Water systems and storage. A facility can be created quickly at various locations including at the MCCSD site. Just need funding or even co-funding, rebates to homeowners, business, or the MCCSD.
Long term, permanent solutions. A serious plan needs to be put in place. Water reclamation, distillation, storage, and infrastructure. Major Funding is needed. Who is focused and working on this? Federal/State/ County funds? Bed tax? Grants? A new water tax/donation fund? Visitors love mendocino, they will help, if asked to and a plan is in place.
It is clear that the MCCSD is underfunded and understaffed.
Solution: The County needs to make water for Mendocino a priority. Mendocino has an untapped resource. Business entrepreneurs and local resident volunteers. The Mendocino Water Angels could be created and fully mobilized. Governmental/Public citizen/volunteer group needs to be empowered. There are a multitude of fast track solutions, as just one example, we could create an ongoing source of water income by selling “Mendocino Fog Water” to visitors, donation boxes at restaurants, hotels, etc.
Bed Tax prioritization. 2,000 visitors a day come to Mendocino. It seems that Mendocino creates quite a bit of bed tax, yet actually receives very little of the funds.
Solution. Can the County re-direct these funds? Is it time for Mendocino to become its own city?
I am available at your convenience. Thank you for your kind consideration.
Gary Starr
44771 Main, Mendocino
gary@gosun.co
707-228-5630
I oppose the diversion of the PGE recovery money to any other purpose than to heal and repair the community of Redwood Valley, and to a lesser extend, Potter Valley, where the 2017 fires devastated families and livelihoods. The town of Mendocino remained completely unscathed! Allocating any of these funds to trucking water onto this coastal town feels like an abuse of power and neglect of those who suffered most.
It's incredulous to me that the board is considering using close to 1 million dollars of the PG&E settlement money to basically give away water to the coast with no plan of oversight or cost recovery.
I have been looking into the water delivery systems over on the coast and it is obvious that they are lacking which is a large part of the problem. Even with what little system cohesion exists, there is no water rationing as far as I can tell, only suggestions for conservation. In stark contrast, Redwood Valley water has been on rationing basically since April when agricultural user were cut off and domestic users were told that rationing for them was imminent. Even before it became mandatory, most residents voluntarily started conserving water.
Where is this water going? Is it going to residences or to for profit businesses? Will there be mandatory rationing? Will there be cost recovery?
I understand we are in a drought. I understand things are still going to get worse before they get better.
What upsets me is that we are looking at funding expensive band aids without looking to fund long term solutions to problems that have been known about for years. We are looking to spend money that is only available because of the tragedy that Redwood Valley suffered. If Redwood Valley hadn't burned, we would still be facing a record setting drought. We would still be in the situation that we are in. What would we be doing then?
The coast contributes a lot of money in the form of bed taxes. Visit Mendocino/Mendocino County Tourism Commission has money in reserves. There are other organizations that should be funding this. This shouldn't be coming out of the money that is due to Redwood Valley.
Of course we would all like free money and free water considering the position we are all in but this money came at a cost. For 9 people, it cost them their lives. For many of us it cost us our homes. For all of us, it has cost us our sense of safety, security, and well being.
To give this money away, no strings attached and without oversight, is a misappropriation of funds. It's a travesty of justice. It's an insult to those of us that are still traumatized years later.
For the supervisors that vote to approve this, it really begs the question if they are fit to serve on the board.
If you want to create a program to truck water from Ukiah to Fort Bragg to support Mendocino village and other coastal areas suffering from drought, you should fund that program with TOT (bed tax) funds, not PG&E Settlement Funds. PG&E Settlement Funds were given to the County for the purpose of helping Redwood Valley and Potter Valley recover from the 2017 wildfire caused by PG&E. It is unconscionable how you have treated these funds as your cash cow instead of using them as intended. Now you add insult to injury by trying to grab more of this money while the Mendocino County Tourism Commission is sitting on more than $842,000 in cash. I implore you to use the TOT money and make sure every bit of money left in the PG&E funds goes to the communities that burned.
Vote no! We should not be redirecting PG&E settlement funds to haul water to the coast. That money was given to the county rebuild Redwood Valley and Potter Valley (also suffering water shortages) from the disastrous effects of the 2017 fire there. The coast should use TOT (bed tax) funds --starting with the over $800,00 sitting in the Visit Mendocino account that are by law meant to be spent--then by levying an additional 0.5 to 1.0% TOT or whatever it takes to pay for the water. Tourism and the stakeholders who profit from need to find a way to pay for it. Furthermore, the coast needs to develop more sources of water for the future.
Thank you, Board of Supervisors for hosting this special meeting to discuss a short term fix for our very serious current water crisis. We are Eric and Elaine Wing Hillesland, owners of the Alegria Inn on Main Street in Mendocino. We have lived and worked here for 23 years and we support the resolution presented for a Water Hauling Assistance Program. We have experienced water shortages before and we are used to buying water from time to time for our business from Wayne of Mendocino Water Company. This year is unlike any other, though. We began buying water in February, months ahead of previous years, and will continue to buy until either the local source is shut off (which seems imminent) or the rain comes. If we are unable to get water, we will be forced to begin scaling back or shutting down our business. That will impact our employees, local suppliers, and the County through loss of bed taxes.
While we support this program, we recognize the importance is creating a long term strategy to insure water supplies for our town and region. There are lots of ideas and technologies available. The Board must provide strong leadership now in creating a permanent solution to Mendocino’s systemic and worsening water shortage.
August 20, 2021
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors:
Re: August 24, 2021, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors special meeting regarding the critical water shortage emergency in the town of Mendocino.
My name is Gary Starr, I am a 40 year Mendocinoite and 17 year home owner in the Village of Mendocino. I am an engineer by education and an entrepreneur by practice. I have been involved in several enterprises solving some of our more difficult environmental problems ranging from practical electric vehicles, cost effective solar, and water conservation and purification. I have been in the acquisition of financing of over $400 million dollars for these various projects. I have participated in many Village efforts including the art center, the pond, the park and authoring a book about Mendocino.
For years, I have been advocating for a better water system for Mendocino. Now after back to back years of drought, we find ourselves in one of the worst water situations in the history of the village if not the entire nation. Many of the news stories have highlighted the problem, I have seen very few solutions presented.
I believe we need to solve this critical issue.
The current and immediate crisis. We need water now.
Solution: More Storage and More Water
Tanks are available, but they are expensive. Can there be a rebate purchase fund for tanks purchased during 2021 ? Transported water. Can we provide a rebate to help pay for the trucked in water during 2021?
Short term local water creation solutions.
Solution: The quickest technology to implement is Air to Water systems and storage. A facility can be created quickly at various locations including at the MCCSD site. Just need funding or even co-funding, rebates to homeowners, business, or the MCCSD.
Long term, permanent solutions. A serious plan needs to be put in place. Water reclamation, distillation, storage, and infrastructure. Major Funding is needed. Who is focused and working on this? Federal/State/ County funds? Bed tax? Grants? A new water tax/donation fund? Visitors love mendocino, they will help, if asked to and a plan is in place.
It is clear that the MCCSD is underfunded and understaffed.
Solution: The County needs to make water for Mendocino a priority. Mendocino has an untapped resource. Business entrepreneurs and local resident volunteers. The Mendocino Water Angels could be created and fully mobilized. Governmental/Public citizen/volunteer group needs to be empowered. There are a multitude of fast track solutions, as just one example, we could create an ongoing source of water income by selling “Mendocino Fog Water” to visitors, donation boxes at restaurants, hotels, etc.
Bed Tax prioritization. 2,000 visitors a day come to Mendocino. It seems that Mendocino creates quite a bit of bed tax, yet actually receives very little of the funds.
Solution. Can the County re-direct these funds? Is it time for Mendocino to become its own city?
I am available at your convenience. Thank you for your kind consideration.
Gary Starr
44771 Main, Mendocino
gary@gosun.co
707-228-5630