2/28/2016 LEW HERE:  First thing I noticed about this County form was the  generic greeting: “Dear Reviewing Agency”. 

How many reviewing agencies were there?

Would it not have been appropriate to at least type their names under the form title Application Type? 

The statement “Once again…” in the REQUEST FOR COMMENTS FORM implies there was at least one other attempt to elicit a comment from our district management. 

Was that previous request(s) also generically addressed with the intended recipient’s name only handwritten in the top right corner? 

What evidence is there that confirms the district even received such AN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REQUEST REGARDING FURTHER EXPANSION OF THE DISTRICT’S SERVICE AREA BY MARIPOSA COUNTY?

The statement “Water is to be by the Lake Don Pedro Community Services District (CDC)” is interesting.  [I assume the “CDC” was a simple mistype of CSD]

Who told the County LDPCSD would serve water for this subdivision project?  

NOW HERE’S THE REAL INTERESTING PART:  CHECK OUT THE BOXED “DEFAULT APPROVAL WARNING” on the Request Form:

So the county says, “well golly gee, we’ve sent you at least a couple of Requests to Comment about this project – someone even hand wrote your name in the upper right hand corner, don’t know what else we could have done”.

DEADLINES

were more important than

COMMON SENSE

VERIFICATION of SUBMITTED INFORMATION?

“Oh by the way, we assume you have valuable comments and might miss the deadline, but gosh, we will just go ahead with the process and you can’t say anything later, because we assume there aren’t any conditions needed and you agree to everything“.

WOW.

So what did OUR LDPCSD Engineering Firm, Binkley Associates have to say about this proposed subdivision right next to the Lake Don Pedro Owners Association that apparently could have been headed for a “COUNTY DEFAULT RUBBER STAMPED APPROVAL“?

So 19 days later after (at least) the second county request for comments, our District Engineering firm has two comments but they were written two days before the Mariposa County Planning Department deadline. 

Appears someone wasn’t doing their job or cut the timing rather close.

1. Outside MID POU – they must supply their own water
2. Added equipment and costs due to lack of adequate pressure

Now the only information I have found so far regarding any LDPCSD acknowledgement of this project or response (and there certainly may be one somewhere) is this undated “Comment” by GM Bob Kent (below) which was likely contained in a board packet.  Due to the civil action a lot of records from around that time seem to have disappeared.  I don’t know about you folks, but I don’t care much for undated business communications.

SUBTLE CHANGE IN DESCRIPTION OF THE WATER SOURCE

Please notice how the original statement by the engineer of, “furnish their own source of water supply” is changed in the GM comment to “(Ground Water) from existing and/or future wells.” Subtle huh, especially since the County form already stated LDPCSD was to serve the water.

[Incidentally, I recently read where that former GM, Bob Kent, still has a civil suit against the LDPCSD being litigated for an alleged wrongful termination action many years ago.  That termination was evidently related to the purchase of an AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) antenna tower system that would not work up here because of the terrain.  Our district engineers allegedly advised the GM in writing prior to his oral telephone agreement to purchase:  NOT TO BUY INTO THAT EXPENSIVE SYSTEM (approximately ONE MILLION DOLLARS) due to antenna reading difficulties in the foothills.]

Kent acknowledges the added expenses for additional pumping.  Interesting.  All these added expenses were, and are to be, simply passed on to the rest of us who are trying to survive this drought for the next several years. (Just like past droughts) Reminds me of when a multi-million dollar land development/mortgage corporation blew into Lake Don Pedro and started building spec/model homes around the golf course.  That corporation even retained the first LDPCSD GM in history on this corporation payroll while he was also a sitting director on the board!   (Smell the heaping pile of “conflict of interest” anyone?)  It was not uncommon back then for a major leak repair which was actually the responsibility of the developer/owner, to instead be paid for by everyone else – and “everyone else” never even knew.

The way it worked was this: the time consuming and expensive work in locating, uncovering, (possibly traffic control if under a road as is often the case) shutting off water service, repairing/replacing lines, turning water back on, and compacting the fill would all be paid by the District (rate payers) while the $20 repair coupling would be paid by the golf course.   (That way they could say with a straight face “we paid for that repair”  LOL)

Look at the maps of these areas that want the subdivision water and notice they were not originally subdivided for higher density residential neighborhoods.  They did not have meter boxes installed like the other 3,128± subdivision lots either.

AVAILABILITY FEES FOR FUTURE WATER

Think about this, the far majority of lots in the subdivision are between 1 and 2 acres.  The availability fee for future water use is calculated at $60 per acre with a maximum of 3 acres to be charged.   A 1 acre lot x $60 = $60 a year added to the property tax.  A 1.6 ac property x $60 = $96 a year in added taxes, and of course a 3 acre parcel x $60 =$180 a year in added taxes.

Now does it seem equitable to you that those entitled to the traditional water service of this district pay between $60 – $180 a year in added taxes for availability fees due to the SMALLER PROPERTY SIZES IN THE “LEGAL MERCED RIVER WATER CONSUMING SUBDIVISION”

yet

EXPANSIVE PROPERTIES WITH HUNDREDS OF ACRES PROPOSED FOR MUCH HIGHER WATER DEMANDS, THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE MID POU AND THEREFORE MUST BE SERVED WITH EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND UNRELIABLE GROUND WELLS PAID FOR WITH PUBLIC FUNDS  —– 

ALSO

ONLY PAY $180 A YEAR?   

(if they paid anything at all – some have not paid a thin dime to the District in decades – yet still claim they have a right to our water)

-BREAK-

Trying to make sense of this…..

You know, greed and exploitation of resources by particular types of people has occurred for thousands of years and is likely harming other communities right now as well. 

Greed and exploitation of resources by unscrupulous parties has occurred for thousands of years and is harming the majority of communities.

Greed and exploitation of resources by unscrupulous parties has occurred for thousands of years and harms every community.

Greed and exploitation by unscrupulous people has occurred for thousands of years and harms every community.

Some people will always cheat.

  – back to babbling already in progress lol –

 

SOMETHING FOR ANOTHER TIME -KEN NICHOLS

I believe the person submitting this particular subdivision proposal is the same Ken Nichols who drilled a pipeline under Bonds Flat Road to bring subdivision water to his 294.64 acre ranch on the shores of Lake Don Pedro Reservoir which is naturally way outside MID POU.  I believe he is also the same contractor who drilled under HWY 132 to bring water to Emery Ross’s friend Mrs. POE (also connected in the early “free for all” 1990s), whose 40+ acre property was also outside MID POU.  You might recall that the POE CASE involved three meters installed on her one property, yet three different APNs were used in our records to obscure the two extra and illegal meters.  Pure and simple fraud in my opinion, but we can get back to that later – there is so much other questionable stuff.

YOU KNOW, it is really difficult trying to explain what I learned from four years on the LDPCSD Board.  One of the most unpleasant of experiences was learning how unethical and deceptive some people can be.  I would have preferred not to know, but on the other hand, I had a duty to understand what caused district success, as well as failure.