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I’m not surprised by Chuck Comstock’s comments; after all I have been one of the most vocal opponents of two of his favorite projects. Chuck Comstock rightly points out that I have made multiple California Public Records Act requests (CPRA requests) of the City to obtain reports and documents that that are in the City’s files. Mr. Comstock knows that I have also paid the City’s fees for all of these requests although he failed to mention that in his editorial. During Chuck Comstock’s 17 years as the Scotts Valley City Manager he aggressively pushed the idea of a third exit and bridge over Highway 17 halfway between the current exits. The City calls the proposed project the Mid-Town Interchange or simply as the MTI. On occasion I’ve refered to the MTI as Scotts Valley’s own Bridge to Nowhere because the project would cost tens of millions of dollars to build and return marginal benefits to the City. Mr. Comstock’s only other editorial since leaving the City was in support of the MTI.
Mr. Comstock also knows that of the 1000 pages roughly 600 pages that I received were for copies of two consulting reports about the MTI project which were commissioned by the city during Chuck Comstock’s tenure as City Manager. According to the reports, the MTI would require the City to acquire land where Seagate currently has its facility as well as land where residential homes exist in addition to land on the opposite side of Highway17 where a new construction project is currently in progress. The reports point out how difficult and expensive it would be for the City to acquire the land and build the bride. Quoting directly from page 2 of the most recent City sponsored consultant report:

“The terrain is too uneven to provide an overcrossing or ramps in some locations, and the existence of relatively new, good quality residential development rules out others. Where these constraints do not apply, the locations would be too close to the existing Mt. Hermon Road interchange.”
In Chuck Comstock’s 17 years as City Manager the City managed to save only about $900,000 from taxes and fees toward the estimated tens of millions needed for land acquisition and the building of the bridge.
In recent years Mr. Comstock’s MTI project has been used more or less in a City sponsored shell game where few if anyone actually believed the MTI would be built yet the City repeated allowed developers to reference the MTI as a means to mitigate potential traffic concerns in state required Environmental Impact Reports. During Chuck Comstock’s 17 years with the City, neither the bridge not the traffic mitigations ever materialized.
So why is Chuck Comstock so upset about the CPRA request that we paid for? For one thing, the requests exposed the facts about the unlikely feasibility of the MTI. Both City Council Candidate Frank Kertai and I raised the issue repeatedly at City council meetings and in the press. The information from the CPRA requests allowed us and others to put pressure on the City to reexamine the MTI. Here is a youtube link to a Council meeting where I asked when the Council would schedule a public review of the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZP05z0-t6Y
There is fortunately a golden lining in all of this controversy and it comes at the expense of Mr. Comstock’s MTI plans. If the City finally removes the MTI from the planning books once and for all, it can free up the close to $900,000 that is reserved for the project. These funds should be reallocated to ongoing road construction and maintenance projects within the City. By eliminating the unnecessary bride from the City plans we can significantly help the City’s budget. Mr. Comstock after 17 years of trying to build the MTI wouldn’t you now agree that the funds can be better spent within the City’s budget and you can thank those pesky CPRA requests for bring the issue forward.
Votes: +2

He just needs to get his letter printed more often in the Press Banner. Votes: +1

I'm so glad you're keeping an eye on these people. I think most residents have no idea what they have planned. They seem to want to be able to develop the hell out of this town and not have anyone object. I feel like I'm watching Scotts Valley disintegrate right before my eyes with all these development plans. Thanks for your many hours of service to our town. Votes: +2

Who are THOSE people? You mean the people who show up to all the fundraising events from the elementary schools to the highschool. You mean the people who come, whenever asked to help with community projects. They show up for moral support or to work. Paul and Frank are only visable at the city meeting ojecting to things but offering alternatives. They slander their neighbors. Paul cares only about himself and his neighborhood. I support THOSE people who support our commiunty and trust them to hear all sides to a project and vote responsibly. Votes: +0

Seems like you and Comstock are the ones doing the attacking here. By the way just because Bach may not participate in the same activities that you do doesn't mean that he isn't or hasn't done a lot for the community. You could even ask the Mayor who in January was at a charity fund raiser that the Bach's sponsored at their home. Your comments are off base. Votes: +2

By "those people" I mean the ones who are killing our town with over-development. I didn't even know about the midtown interchange until I read the Target traffic report. I was appauld. It's to relieve all the immense amounts of traffic that would be caused by Target. This is not even taking into account all the traffic that is intended to be drawn from all over the county to come shop here at the Town Center which I am against. Paul is fighting for our town against developers who are ruining it and I appreciate that. We live here because we like it the way it is not in anticipation of shopping malls. Sure, community service is great and I'm not knocking that. But I feel a lot of development is planned for this town that most people don't even know about. They think Scotts Valley will stay a nice little place to live until one day they see the trucks and bulldozers rolling in. By then it's too late. Would a midtown interchange open up Green Hills road at the end? That would allow Santa Cruz traffic to bypass hwy 17 and go up Glen Canyon and Green Hills to get on 17 at the MTI. I've lived here nearly 30 years and as long as I can remember Green Hills rd. has been closed at the end providing nice quiet neighborhoods without lots of traffic passing thru. Have you seen the Valley traffic backed up on 17 going home from the beach? They will all go up Glen Canyon and Green Hills rd to get to 17 at the MTI ruining all those peaceful coutry areas. Your overdevelopment will not only ruin our quality of life but also spread to all the people who live along Glen Canyon and Green Hills rd. I never said anything about community service. This is about the Mid-town interchange and all the other development that is ruining our town. Votes: +2