KAMPA VOICE OF THE DISTRICT?
(Since that was the description with which Board President Danny Johnson referred to our GM, why not use it for this series of videos?)
anyway, the video for PART XI is finally done. But first……some pre-video highlights. lol
RESERVE FUNDS $
The proposed RESERVE FUND ACCOUNTS, which KAMPA & KOMPANY advocate the Board institute, must have a substantial amount of money in them, and since the district DOES NOT HAVE THAT MONEY NOW it will be necessary to obtain it from customers in the future. This will likely occur with a PROPOSITION 218 vote of “some” of the paying customers.
The actual amount of money needed for each of these accounts (or target account balances) is an UNKNOWN at this time which essentially equates to a sort of BLANK CHECK TYPE SITUATION. [We don’t know how much money now, but will eventually start charging customers later after we agree on how much we can “squeeze” out of them. (Good description Wes). Dear Lord, are customers really that uniformed? Perhaps gullible? Want to buy a bridge?]
Naturally, extensive and costly research must be completed to ascertain WHAT THE WATER DEMAND might be for each proposed land development project when proposed and that estimate must be sufficient to meet the estimated high water demand when the project is complete and water is flowing.
The process to determine what the water demands might be are time consuming and costly but when complete a dollar figure amount will be placed on each account and customers will subsequently be charged a rate/fee to start putting money into these accounts. (Some of the accounts make perfectly good sense, others will be used to pursue this GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTION SPECIAL BENEFIT.
ANOTHER KAMPA & KOMPANY DECEPTION?
But once again the District (Pete Kampa & Kampa Community Solutions, llc) purposefully confuse this issue of further OUTSIDE Merced Irrigation District Place of Use (MID-POU) water service by glossing over some very important facts. Facts, which in themselves, frame this GROUND WATER SUBSTITUTION PROGRAM in terms of what it truly is:
a SPECIAL BENEFIT WATER SERVICE never contemplated in the original design, intent, and construction of our SURFACE WATER TREATMENT PLANT with a whole slew of potential pitfalls which will cost customers an outrageous amount of money for perpetuity! You are witnessing the groundwork for this obscured financial nightmare right now.
Consider this:
SUBDIVISION LOTS INTENDED TO RECEIVE WATER
Property lots in the subdivision already have lateral service lines installed and are ready for water delivery with only the addition of a water meter to document the amount of water used so a monthly bill can be generated for payment to the district to cover the costs necessary for that water delivery.
SUBDIVISION PROPERTY USE ALREADY DETERMINED
Subdivision lots are governed by CC&Rs (Covenants, Codes & Restrictions) which are generally far more restrictive than their respective county building and planning codes. With a few exceptions, subdivision properties were specifically intended for single family residential purposes with the normal outbuildings associated with such residential use.
SUBDIVISION “AVAILABILITY FEES” REASONABLE
Since the average size of one of the over 3,100 subdivision parcels is under two acres, a reasonable formula of determining what an owner should pay for water availability fees was set at $60 per acre, with a maximum of 3 acres, or $180 a year.
So an owner with a one acre lot pays $60 per year added to their property taxes; an owner of a 1.6 acre lot would pay $96 a year (1.6 x $60 = $96), but owners of 3 acre and 5 acre parcels would both only pay $180 a year due to the “cap” on the maximum fee that could be established [$180/year].
Please appreciate also that even the larger parcels in the subdivision fall under the CC&Rs established for that unit of the subdivision which are again, as most owners know, generally far more restrictive than respective county ordinances.
CONCLUSION
Estimating the water demands for developments in the subdivision are relatively simple since options and uses for those property developments have been severely reduced by way of subdivision CC&Rs. Everyone knows how they will likely be developed.
THESE ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT VARIABLES
Where the project will occur is known: in the subdivision where lateral service lines were already installed decades ago. (This is very important engineering wise where distance, elevation, and pressures are critical to proper water transmission from the plant to the customer’s property.)
What sort of development: single family residence with associated outbuildings. (The “average family” uses a predictable amount of water per year. Which is why “conservation restrictions” take into consideration how many people live in the residence full time.)
Determining an appropriate water availability fee based on property sizes: known acreage in the subdivision. (Subdivision lots are also relatively small.)
So considering the above, estimating how much water is needed and what the actual costs in delivering that amount of water are relatively easy compared to a VARIETY OF UNKNOWNS when trying to calculate what would be required OUTSIDE THE MIDPOU.
- OUTSIDE MID-POU properties were clearly prohibited in the water license from receiving MERCED RIVER WATER which is pumped from Lake McClure under water license 11395 held by the Merced Irrigation District.
- GROUNDWATER from extremely expensive ground wells must ALWAYS PRODUCE SUFFICIENT WATER TO SUBSTITUTE or REPLACE all the Merced River water diverted to Outside MID-POU properties.
- Water use Outside the MID-POU varies greatly and is not even restricted as to use. [This is precisely why those wanting to expand the OUTSIDE MID-POU GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTION PROGRAM want to stop customers from viewing the OUTSIDE MID-POU report in the monthly agenda packet! Fire stations, sewer plants, other subdivisions, and of course commercial cattle ranches, all consume a tremendously greater amount of water than a single family residence in the subdivision for whom the SURFACE WATER TREATMENT PLANT was constructed.
- Outside MID-POU water service requires extending service mains (booster pumps, valves, etc.) much further than ever anticipated in the original engineering calculations approved for the subdivision by state and local agencies. (Not sure if any implications regarding the CALIFORNIA SUBDIVISION MAP ACT where county engineers approve of infrastructure for planned developments) Such expansion only diminishes the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the existing service. This is one of the reasons the district refuses to post the OFFICIAL MID-POU MAP of 11395 water service on the website. A graphic representation of this issue is much easier to digest than paragraphs of confusing words. One glance of the map shows the service area is almost doubled – BUT WITHOUT A SINGLE NOTATION THAT ALL PROPERTIES MUST BE PROVIDED GROUND WELL WATER PRODUCTION.
- AND FINALLY – TO THE POINT OF THIS PARTICULAR DIVERSION of blah, blah, blahs – how can anyone possibly, much less adequately, estimate OUTSIDE MID-POU water demand and the substantial amount of money necessary to provide such, when there are so many unanswered questions as to the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY of this Special Benefit water service program?
I believe it is not only UNETHICAL, but probably ILLEGAL, TO CHARGE SOMEONE FOR A SPECIAL BENEFIT THEY NEITHER ASKED FOR OR USE. Why is there such thing as a PROPOSITION 218?
The above is just a first blush look at what Kampa is planning for all of us “ENTITLED MERCED RIVER WATER USING CUSTOMERS” in the subdivision. Raise sufficient money to continue his special interest benefit of GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTION for land developers OUTSIDE the MID-POU under water license 11395. (YES redundant – but very important, so read it again)
Raise sufficient money to continue his special interest benefit of GROUNDWATER SUBSTITUTION for land developers OUTSIDE the MID-POU under water license 11395.
(Copy/paste – cool huh?) Please also consider this entire scheme is supported with public funds. When did customers approve to use public funds to increase private land developer profit margins who just happen to be next to a nonprofit public agency?
The Lake Don Pedro CSD has NO LEGAL DUTY or MORAL OBLIGATION to serve and/or expand OUTSIDE MID-POU water service.
(No. Not yelling. Just didn’t want any view to miss this little tidbit – is this better….
The Lake Don Pedro CSD has NO LEGAL DUTY or MORAL OBLIGATION to serve and/or expand OUTSIDE MID-POU water service.
This unethical tax/fee scam has hindered the intended proper functioning of this SURFACE WATER TREATMENT PLANT for decades and has cost all customers an untold amount of money and time which, although important, will be insignificant when compared to what it will eventually cost customers in the future.
WHY DON’T THE OUTSIDE MID-POU property owners create their own reserve accounts to support ground well construction, maintenance, repair and replacement? They are the ones receiving the benefit. Doesn’t that make sense to you?
OH WELL, here’s the video anyway.
Take a guess.
I’m thinking of an adult beverage that is similar in color to the image below……
later.
