Commentary: Measure N offers most stable future for Lompico’s water

I am a 24-year resident of Lompico, and would like to thank voters for electing and re-electing me as a Director of the Lompico County Water District (LCWD) in 2008 and 2012.
This year, my fellow directors elected me to serve as Board President. I strongly support the merger with the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD). I urge all registered voters in Lompico to vote “Yes” on Measure N when you receive your ballot in the mail.
I have the benefit of being both an engineer and a construction estimator for water works projects, so I’m an expert on how much improvements cost and what is needed for a safe, reliable water supply.
I also have been reviewing the condition of the district, and all of its finances, for more than six years.
I listened, and continue to listen to all arguments against the measure. Below are a few of the main arguments, and my reasoning as to why I urge a “Yes” vote.
One of the arguments is that it is a bad deal that needs to be renegotiated. I want to assure everyone that this is not that simple.
We have been working on this merger since 2010, with many meetings and discussions and much research and work by LCWD, SLVWD, LAFCO, and elected officials and staff of the County of Santa Cruz.
This team will not go back and start again; this really is it.
The second, perhaps the most important, is financial. How much exactly is this going to cost me and my family?
For this, I’d like to offer this common sense answer: Lompico got where it is at today by spending a great deal of money on overhead, which is normal for a small district such as ours.
However, little to no money went into capital reserves, which would have required even higher rates than we’ve had. (To see what you will save, visit www.tinyurl.com/Lompico)
And, please give this some thought: What if LCWD never was created? What if you were always a SLVWD customer? Answer: You would have paid half for water, saved thousands, and not been in this bad situation at all.
The opposition also believes a grant could be applied for to pay for all the repairs and replacements. I assure you it is not that easy; we have had grant applications pending for several years, and we still can pursue these applications and other grant funding even if the merger passes.
However, grants require a percentage of funding from other sources (typically your water bills), which we don’t have. Putting our hopes on a grant being approved is just plain foolish.
The reason why we will pay more if we do not merge is that we will have to continue this wasteful spending on high overhead: Personnel, rent, utility bills, insurance, et cetera. And, in reality, all of these capital improvements do eventually have to be made. We would need about $600 more per customer, per year, and it will take some time to build up reserves to start replacing infrastructure.
Some of the redwood tanks are leaking very badly and could collapse in a small earthquake. With the bond, tank replacement and other repairs can begin immediately.
The bond cost is much less than $600 per year, and your water rates will drop.
SLVWD rates historically have been less than half of LCWD, simply because they have lower overhead.
We have heard the rumor that SLVWD is seeking a bond of its own; this is not true. When we heard this, we asked their Board members and staff directly, and were told no. We read the reports and recommendations of their financial advisers, which do not suggest bonds.
Clearly, the majority of residents are in favor of merging, having elected all pro-merger candidates to the Board. However, since bonds require a two-thirds positive vote, a minority could cause the merger to fail.
For all these reasons, I urge a vote of “Yes” on Measure N.
If you are not registered to vote, please do so by Feb. 9. It is quite simple to register online these days.
You can register to vote, check to make sure your vote is tallied, and get more information at www.votescount.com.