Los Osos sewer question, for story, please

TO: Wade Horton, Director, SLO County Public Works Department

DATE: 9/28/2015

Hello Mr. Horton,

I'm researching a story, and, at the SLO County Public Works Dept. web page at this link:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP.htm

... it reads:

"Representatives from the County are available to answer questions from residents... (on) issues related to the Los Osos Wastewater Project. Contact the County at (805) 788-2114 or rruiz@co.slo.ca.us"

Apparently, that is inaccurate information, because, last week, I emailed Mr. Ruiz a question "related to the Los Osos Wastewater Project," but he never replied, of course, so, apparently that web page contains inaccurate information.

So, if you don't mind, I'm just going to go ahead and bug you with my question.

Recently, I read an email from Mark Maier, Public Service Supervisor, Office of the SLO County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector, to a Los Osos prohibition zone property owner inquiring about why there are two sewer assessments on their property tax bill, and Mark responded:

"Several years ago, the Los Osos Community Service District (LOCSD) established a contract with 'The Wallace Group' to begin the Los Osos Wastewater treatment facility. This project was never completed, however bills are still outstanding. As a result, the Wallace Group had been collecting on bills, which are indicated by 'LOCSD WASTE TREATMT'."

I'm just curious: Why was that project "never completed?"

I've searched and searched SLO County documents to find the official answer to that extremely important question, but, very surprisingly, I couldn't find the answer.

The reason I find that so surprising, is because in the official 2007 county document at this link:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/BOS+Related+Items/Exhibit+K+BOS+8-14-07.pdf

... it reads:

"The original location for the CSD project remains an alternative (for the SLO County Public Works Dept. to build), certainly to the chagrin of its many opponents. "

So, if the SLO County Public Works Dept. actually considered constructing the LOCSD's "project," why was it "never completed" by the SLO County Public Works Dept.?

And that question gets even more interesting/important when you consider that "more than 4,000" LOPZ property owners are still paying for that failed (apparent) disaster... until the year 2034, as I first exposed a couple years back at this link:

http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/2013/05/junk-bonds-twice-year-fleecing-of-los.html

For example, the following is a screenshot from one of those "over 4,000" Los Osos prohibition zone property owners' most recent tax bill. [I've embedding the screenshot in this email, so, hopefully you can view it]:

See? "$3,345.18" -- per year -- for "LOCSD WASTE TREATMT," for this particular property owner.

Now, as I'm sure you know, the assessment titled, "SLO AD 1-LO SWR-USDA," is the assessment that is funding the sewer project that the county is currently constructing in Los Osos.

So, for confusion's sake, I just want to point out that the assessment titled "LOCSD WASTE TREATMT" is NOT going to pay for the "waste treatmt" project that the county is currently building within the "LOCSD" boundary -- the assessment titled "SLO AD 1-LO SWR-USDA" is paying for the "waste treatmt" project within the "LOCSD" boundary, and NOT the assessment titled, "LOCSD WASTE TREATMT." That assessment is now going towards paying for a "project" that will never exist... and it will continue to pay for a non-existent "project" for the next 17 years.

Additionally, the property owner from the above-mentioned tax bill owns multiple units within the PZ, and is paying over $3,300 per year -- for the next 17 years -- for an assessment titled "LOCSD WASTE TREATMT," when a LOCSD waste treatment project will now never exist. (A typical single property assessment is about $230/year.)

So, you know, what the heck happened there? Why did the SLO County Public Works Dept. "never complete" the LOCSD's so-called "project," when so many Los Osos property owners are stuck paying for it for the next 17 years?

The property owner from the above-mentioned tax bill has contacted me, and is not clear at all on the answer to that super-important question, and, as you can imagine, that property owner, really, really, REALLY wants a clear answer to that question.

I mean, was the LOCSD's so-called "project" THAT big of a disaster, that it didn't even warrant completion by your department, even AFTER it received all of its permits -- including one from SLO County government in 2003 -- after five years (at "1 million gallons" of water pollution per day in Los Osos) and nearly $20 million of "planning" by the LOCSD was wasted on obtaining those permits, and construction had already begun (in 2005) on the now-failed "project?"

Wow. Sounds like an amazing story.

So, again, why did the SLO County Public Works Dept. simply flush (pun intended) five years, and nearly $20 million worth of LOCSD sewer "development" down the toilet?

There doesn't seem to be an official answer to that excellent question, and the "more than 4,000" LOPZ property owners that are now stuck paying for that failed disaster until the year 2034 certainly deserve a straight, clear, official answer to that super-important question.

Thanks!

Ron

P.S. By the way, just a quick 'heads-up' to let you know that I've set up my blog to where I can now have my emails publish directly to my blog, so, by the time you read this, it will already have automatically been published on ol' SewerWatch, at this link:

http://sewerwatch.blogspot.com/

Cool, huh? It makes blogging SO much easier. Thank again!

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Here's the email that I sent to Rob Ruiz, on 9/22/15, with no reply.

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Hello Rob,

At the SLO County government web page at this link:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/PW/LOWWP.htm

... it reads:

"Representatives from the County are available to answer questions from residents... (on) issues related to the Los Osos Wastewater Project. Contact the County at (805) 788-2114 or rruiz@co.slo.ca.us"

That's why I'm sending this email to you.

I'm researching a story, and, recently, I read an email from Mark Maier, Public Service Supervisor, Office of the SLO County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector, to a Los Osos prohibition zone property owner inquiring about why there are two sewer assessments on their property tax bill, and Mark responded:

"Several years ago, the Los Osos Community Service District (LOCSD) established a contract with 'The Wallace Group' to begin the Los Osos Wastewater treatment facility. This project was never completed, however bills are still outstanding. As a result, the Wallace Group had been collecting on bills, which are indicated by 'LOCSD WASTE TREATMT'."

I'm just curious: Why was that project "never completed?"

I've searched and searched SLO County documents to find the official answer to that extremely important question, but, very surprisingly, I couldn't find the answer.

The reason I find that so surprising, is because at the official 2007 county document at this link:

http://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Assets/PW/LOWWP/BOS+Related+Items/Exhibit+K+BOS+8-14-07.pdf

... it reads:

"The original location for the CSD project remains an alternative (for the SLO County Public Works Dept. to build), certainly to the chagrin of its many opponents. "

So, if the SLO County Public Works Dept. actually considered constructing the LOCSD's "project," why was it "never completed" by the SLO County Public Works Dept.?

And that question gets even more interesting/important when you consider that "more than 4,000" LOPZ property owners are still paying for that failed (apparent) disaster... until the year 2034.

So, you know, what the heck happened there? Why did the SLO County Public Works Dept. "never complete" the LOCSD's so-called "project?"

Was it THAT big of a disaster, that it didn't even warrant completion, even AFTER it received all of its permits (after five years [at "1 million gallons" of water pollution per day in Los Osos] and $20 million of "planning" by the LOCSD), and construction had already begun on the now-failed "project?"

Sounds like a GREAT story.

Thanks!

Ron

P.S. Last week I asked this question to Mark Maier... uh, twice, but he never responded, of course. So, that's why I now have to bug you with this. Hopefully, the SLO County Public Works Dept. is better at responding to the citizens of SLO County than the SLO County Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector's office.  : -)

Thanks again.

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