skip to main |
skip to sidebar
California Sunshine Laws protect our right to information about our government
Vancil reservoir -- 5 million gallons
Coast rock cress or Arabis blepharophylla
Header photo credit
j3pd2k some rights reserved
This is a companion site to
contact
fortuna.sunshine@yahoo.com
California Sunshine Laws protect our right to information about our government
Wish to add an issue for discussion?
Guest posts welcome. Send to fortuna.sunshine@yahoo.com.
Please use "Fortuna Exchange" as subject of email.
Please use "Fortuna Exchange" as subject of email.
Topics
- change in Fortuna (12)
- citizen participation (12)
- lawsuit (9)
- solar (4)
- Stewart Street (3)
- tank in the park (3)
- use Vancil (8)
- water rates (2)
City Council contact information
Doug Strehl -- 725-5293 (Source: phone book)
Ken Zanzi -- 726-7934 (Source: phone book)
Dean Glaser: 725-3880 (Source: phone book)
Mike Losey -- 725-2574-- PO Box 159, Fortuna -- Email: mlosey@suddenlink.net (Source: Losey4citycouncil.com)
Sue Long: 725-5641 (Source: Sue-Long-Fortuna-City-Council)
Mailing Address for all: c/o City Hall, 621 11th Street, Fortuna, CA 95540
email via City Website ---please note that there may be a delay as system requires City Clerk to forward messages
Estimated cost: $4,500,000
New tank or use Vancil Reservoir?
--The 5 million gallon Vancil reservoir has 4 million gallons of unused storage. It is up the street from the proposed tank. In Fortuna’s southeast there is an identified need for storage, but no proposed projects.
--The proposed 2 million gallon tank was sized only to meet current demand. With 4 million gallons of unused storage, Vancil will easily meet current and future growth needs in the north part of town.
--Built before the 1964 Christmas flood, Vancil was part of a water development program for a growing city with 5 wood products manufacturing plants. There is no evidence that it was ever intended as emergency storage.
--The City requested and was told there are no regulatory obstacles to using Vancil.
--The Water Bonds are not a legal obstacle to using Vancil, Fortuna is not required to build the proposed tank. The City Council can and has changed the 2006 bond funded projects
--We were told the water rate increase was to borrow money (sell bonds) that would fund "urgent projects" required to fulfill the City's "current operational responsibilities."
--A pipeline between Vancil and downtown will make 4 million gallons available, providing the 1 million gallons of fire reserve storage recommended for down town. The proposed tank has only 1/2 million gallons for fire reserve storage.
--Using Vancil will make bond funds available for other necessary projects, allowing us to avoid an unnecessary rate increase.
--We can safely and reliably use Vancil for 50 years and spend less than the cost of the proposed tank, plus interest.
--The 50-year estimate was based on the January 2009 Staff Report’s estimate of $10,000/year energy cost. Three months earlier, in September 2008, the City requested and received information that the actual cost would be half that, $5,000/year. Based on this, we could expect using Vancil would be significantly less than the proposed tank.
I still do not know the motivation for the tank, but I suspect and hope that this is a simple case of good intentions and faulty assumptions resulting in a misguided project.
Vancil reservoir -- 5 million gallons
City Council contact information
Doug Strehl -- 725-5293 (Source: phone book)
Ken Zanzi -- 726-7934 (Source: phone book)
Dean Glaser: 725-3880 (Source: phone book)
Mike Losey -- 725-2574-- PO Box 159, Fortuna -- Email: mlosey@suddenlink.net (Source: Losey4citycouncil.com)
Sue Long: 725-5641 (Source: Sue-Long-Fortuna-City-Council)
Mailing Address for all: c/o City Hall, 621 11th Street, Fortuna, CA 95540
email via City Website ---please note that there may be a delay as system requires City Clerk to forward messages
Coast rock cress or Arabis blepharophylla
City Council contact informantion
Doug Strehl -- 725-5293 (Source: phone book)
Ken Zanzi -- 726-7934 (Source: phone book)
Dean Glaser: 725-3880 (Source: phone book)
Mike Losey -- 725-2574-- PO Box 159, Fortuna -- Email: mlosey@suddenlink.net (Source: Losey4citycouncil.com)
Sue Long: 725-5641 (Source: Sue-Long-Fortuna-City-Council)
Mailing Address for all: c/o City Hall, 621 11th Street, Fortuna, CA 95540
Janelle,
ReplyDeleteKeep going, you are a singular inspiration of citizen watchdogging in Fortuna. Your in depth research, your questioning the obvious flaws in city positions, your doggedness in knowing your rights as a citizen and requiring the city to follow through in providing them, your persistence and tirelessness in all of the above are a magnificent example of what can and should be done by other citizens, but is not being done.
Keep going, you are on the right track, the city has not considered all the alternatives seriously, as you point out in their lack of evidence for not using Vancil. The city's specious arguments re: "no go" on other alternatives, including your proposal for scaled down use of Stewart St in concert with Vancil, are transparently weak but you challenge them when no one else will.
Keep going. Contrary to what the city says, you know more than the "city" does in some cases, and you've done more research in some areas than they have done. An expert is just someone who knows more than others in a specific area and you've made yourself an expert on many aspects of the tank issues at stake. Many city employees have so much on their plate that they've barely been able to look into areas where you've spent many hours and days researching.
Keep going--you give many of us inspiration and hope.
Yah!!
ReplyDeleteI secund that emotion!!!
missy
Dear Missy, Thank you for your words of encouragement. It is a hard thing for me to do, but I have decided not to publish the second comment you wrote. You have much to say, but some of what you wrote I think could hurt people, including you or me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe someday you and I will meet. Until then, keep your head up high.
janelle
12:38 said: Many city employees have so much on their plate that they've barely been able to look into areas...
ReplyDeleteThank you for recognizing the city employees.
I second that emotion. (I love that pun!)
Thanks for all your work Janelle. Godspeed on your stamina and ability to keep up all your good work even when it gets tiresome. Thanks
ReplyDelete