Letters: SLV, Library Friends

Letters to the editor
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Dear Editor,
We really appreciate the reporting you’ve been doing since you came to the paper.
The articles are very relevant (there’s no fluff) and the style/tone very good. I especially appreciate your doggedness with reporting on the SLV water board (which is almost comical, frankly; the water board
is just digging themselves in deeper. Though I’m curious why no one has asked for a recall.)
Karin Gallagher, Felton
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Dear Editor
I’m a 4-foot-nothing sweet grandmotherly lady who chose to stand up to the San Lorenzo Valley Water board at their last meeting. It is the first time in my life I’ve done an act of civil disobedience.
A second protester, a former Lompico water district director like me, hardly said a word before being gaveled down. 
A director at SLV later claimed the sheriff was called because she felt we were a threat.  I think the only threat present is the misbehavior of the SLV board and manager, in how they treat their ratepayers.
We did not call the board names or slur reputations, as the manager and several board members (and one board member’s spouse) have repeatedly done to members of the public.  
Maybe they felt threatened because John Schneider and I know more than they do about the Brown Act. This protects our right to speak at a public meeting, with no “speaker slips” or other restrictions this board is using, obviously to try and control who gets to speak on what.  That is just wrong.  
The board doesn’t even follow their own policies, for example monkeying with the agenda’s order of business, moving the manager’s merit-pay decision to the end of the meeting because many interested ratepayers can’t stay that late to comment.
They disrespect the laws and ratepayers, then complain about how we react.  
I know the rules for board meetings well, but decided that it’s time for me to stand up. I object to the district treating their ratepayers this way. 
Lois Henry, Lompico
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Dear Editor,
Felton Library Friends, a chapter of the Friends of the Santa Cruz Libraries, gives heartfelt thanks to the amazing artists and the many community volunteers who made the Fantastic Figures Festival a tremendous success.
The larger than life figures sparked many conversations about the value of art in the community and the plans for the new library and park.
The auction, raffle and festival raised funds that will support Felton Library Friends in their efforts to support the new Felton Branch Library and the Outdoor Discovery Park that will be across Bull Creek from the library building.
Michelle Mosher, Felton