Lompico voters reject Measure N by single vote

Never let it be said that a one vote never made a difference.
A single household’s vote was the difference as Lompico voters rejected Measure N, a bond proposal that sought to both raise funds to repair and replace infrastructure and to merge the 500-plus customers of the Lompico County Water District with the larger San Lorenzo Valley Water District.
The final results were announced by the Santa Cruz County Elections Office on Friday, Feb. 27. With a 69.92 percent voter turnout, 343 voters (66.47 percent) were in favor of the measure and 173 (33.53 percent) were against — one vote shy of the two-thirds required for approval.
The vote closes the chapter on the second acrimonious election Lompico voters have faced in the past year over the management of their water, and presents new challenges for the district’s board, all of whom were in support of the merger.
Mark Meacham, one of the measure’s more vocal opponents, said that much of the opposition to the merger came as those who were in favor of remaining independent or exploring other options were shut out of the decision-making process.
“The whole bond measure was padded against us to an extreme extent,” he said. “SLV (Water District) would never agree to a takeover of an asset that had a negative revenue stream … what they were going to do is get 500 meters for free.”
“(Opponents of the measure) weren’t against the acquisition — what they were against is the terms of the acquisition.”
Boardmember Lois Henry said that the failure of the measure will wind up costing customers more than had it passed. The board is already scheduled to discuss dramatic rate increases this week
“We’re going to have to raise our rates more than what the bond would’ve cost … $600 more (annually) for each of our customers — I know that’s going to be a hardship for people,” she said. “That’s not something I look forward to doing.”
While the result of the election were disappointing, Henry said, the board cannot afford to dwell on it, and plans to work to address Lompico’s needs moving forward.
“What we’re looking at is what our priorities are,” she said. “We have to fix this water district, we have to — it’s better than it was five years ago, but it’s still not up to what we need.”
Henry said that the board’s goal is to secure a third person for the district’s field staff and to hire a district manager to oversee the district’s operation.
“The state isn’t requiring a manager, but we need someone to be there every day,” she said. “We need somebody on-site who is overseeing that the contractors or whoever is doing their job.”
After that, she said, the district’s billing programs need to be updated, and the Mill Creek treatment plant needs work.
“It’s a lot of work and we just have to keep at it,” Henry said. “We’re disappointed, but that just means we move forward with the next plan.”
Meacham said that he hopes that the board will be more inclusive in its decision-making as the district moves forward.
“This could’ve been avoided if they’d had transparency,” he said. “There’s a lot of work to be done … it will all play out if everyone works together.”